For Immediate Release: 12/20/24 

Contact: Peter Jasinski | peter.jasinski@masenate.gov 

BOSTON – The Legislature passed an expansive substance use disorder bill Thursday, approving a long list of vital healthcare reforms and updates. Notably, the bill includes several policies championed by State Senator John F. Keenan, including the licensing of recovery coaches and improving insurance coverage for non-opioid pain management.  

“Every legislator has heard countless stories from those affected deeply by substance use disorder. I believe this bill importantly and accurately reflects these experiences,” said Sen. Keenan. “I am particularly grateful for what this bill does regarding recovery coaches. These healthcare professionals have a proven track record of success in other states, but the lack of licensure here in Massachusetts became a barrier to their wide-spread implementation. Licensing will add a greatly needed treatment option while also creating a new employment opportunity in the healthcare sector for those in recovery.”  

Recovery coaches are healthcare specialists who have personally experienced addiction and recovery. They work individually with substance use disorder patients, providing a compassionate support system, as well as helping them set and meet goals. Until now, the lack of professional licensure and oversight for this line of work has prevented many who wanted to pursue recovery coaching as a career path from doing so. Initially filed by Sen. Keenan as the stand-alone bill S1388, An Act relative to recovery coach licensure, this framework was included as an amendment to the substance use disorder bill. As a result, Massachusetts will now have the career pathway and professional standards needed to popularize the role of recovery coaches in the Commonwealth. 

“Compassion and trust play such integral roles in the recovery process. Patients interacting with someone they can relate to and see as a positive role model has a hugely beneficial impact on their recovery process,” said Sen. Keenan.  

The substance use bill also includes an amendment from Sen. Keenan requiring the Commonwealth to research the financial barriers sober homes face in Massachusetts. Informed by his experiences in developing the state’s certification program for sober homes and continuously advocating for their funding, Sen. Keenan drafted this amendment to ensure that the Commonwealth analyzes the financial barriers associated with these resources, which provide housing stability to patients looking to reestablish healthier daily living habits. The amendment also distinguishes certified from non-certified sober homes, recognizing the higher standards of care certified homes have to meet.  

Regarding health insurance coverage, the bill includes another amendment filed by Sen. Keenan that removes the prior authorization requirement for non-opioid pain management treatments, matching a bill he had filed earlier in the session. By removing this barrier in the coverage process, patients will have quicker access to treatments including acupuncture, chiropractic treatments, massage and movement therapies.  

“For many years, the default has been to prescribe opioids for pain management. By making access to alternative pain management treatments easier, we are lessening the likelihood of an individual becoming dependent upon or addicted to opioids and preventing patients in recovery from receiving prescription opioid medications,” said Sen. Keenan. 

Lastly, the bill also includes language filed by Sen. Keenan to study the impacts of xylazine, a sedative and pain-reliever used on animals, which has increasingly been reported as an additive to addictive illicit drugs such as fentanyl.  

Several other components of the substance use disorder bill directly address current aspects of the public health crisis facing the Commonwealth.  

The bill requires insurance companies to cover emergency treatments to overdoses like naloxone without prior authorization or other barriers like cost-sharing, and mandates treatment facilities and hospitals provide overdose-reversing treatments to patients upon discharge. Reflecting best practices in harm reduction, the bill limits the legal liability healthcare personnel would face while testing a narcotic substance.  

Additionally, the bill amends the state’s child welfare laws so that parents are not reported for utilizing medications such as suboxone that are prescribed for treating opioid use disorder, and prohibits life insurance providers from denying coverage based on a client obtaining an opioid use disorder treatment for themself or someone else. 

The bill will now be sent to the Governor for her approval.