The Nevada State Medical Association (NSMA) has written a “friendly amendment” compromising the integrity of SB 459 to establish opioid overdose prevention policy for Nevada . PHASA will NOT compromise on standing orders and 3rd party prescriptions (section no. 7). There have also been some reservations from Assemblywoman/Dr. Titus. This is a CALL TO ACTION for those of you that support SB 459 as the bill stands.
- Write the Governor’s office http://gov.nv.gov/Contact/Email-the-Governor/ and raise hell! Accept no compromise on standing orders and 3rd party prescriptions for SB 459!
- Give thank you’s to the HHS committee members who spoke in support of this bill and reach out to those who have expressed apprehension. We want to know who we appreciate so that they can persuade those who are hesitant on the committee. We need phone calls and emails written by MONDAY, as big decisions will be made at the first part of the week to see what we can resolve by the deadline 4/10.
- Contact ANYONE you know who is a provider or pharmacist who would be affected by the NSMA objections to see if they will argue on our behalf in a letter or phone call.
- Don’t give up HOPE!!! The HHS committee does NOT have to accept the NSMA recommendations. We don’t have to accept a BAD bill and there are members of our legislature listening to us. Members of PHASA have been contacted personally by the Governor’s office to say that we made a difference and helped convince them of this important piece of legislation. We can work with the rest of the committees to do the same!
Here is the list of our current Health and Human Services Committee members.
It is absolutely essential that we make phone calls and emails to each of these legislators ASAP!
If you are able to write emails addressing each Committee Member individually this is the MOST effective way to persuade the individual legislators about the value of our message.
If you are unable to address each Committee Member individually then writing one letter and sending it to everyone is still better than tacit consent and our silence!
If you only write one or two personalized letters the people to target are the Doctors on the committee who likely have the most weight.
| Joe P. Hardy – Chair | 702-293-7506 | Joe.Hardy@sen.state.nv.us | S |
| Robin L. Titus – Vice Chair | 775-684-8507 | Robin.Titus@asm.state.nv.us | A |
You can also email the Governor to tell him this bill will not stand as is here http://gov.nv.gov/Contact/Email-the-Governor/.
We need to let our committee members know that this is NOT acceptable!
Please start revising your letters to let your legislators so they know that we are NOT willing to compromise on the 3rd party prescribing or standing order provisions! Sample documents are attached. Here is a template to get you started, just change the highlighted areas to personalize: Sample Letter to Legislators Template. Be sure to include the PHASA Positioning Statement!
We only have until 4/10 to get this out of the committee hearings with a bill all parties can agree upon, or the bill dies or becomes a BAD bill.
Public Health Alliance for Safety Access 