Lawmakers locally and nationally have been struggling to find ways to combat the growing problem of painkiller abuse, which kills 44 Americans daily.
Strategies have focused on expanding access to drugs that treat overdoses and addiction, making painkillers harder to abuse and cutting down on prescriptions for opioids.
But Illinois is trying something completely different.
In August, Springfield passed a law that sets up a pilot program in which the state pays pharmacies to dole out painkillers in lockable bottles.
The goal is to keep people who weren’t given the prescription from stealing the drugs for personal use, called diversion. An example is a teen stealing a parent’s prescription for a painkiller.
Health officials say it is a common method that drug users employ.
“Anything we can do to interrupt it we thought would be wise,” said state Rep. Mike Zalewski, one of the original sponsors of the bill.
The state, like so many others, has grappled with opioid overdoses, which killed about 1,700 people in 2014 in Illinois. That is an 8 percent increase from the 1,579 who died in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The yearlong, voluntary pilot program was supposed to start Jan. 1, but has been delayed over budget disagreements.
“Due to Illinois’ budget impasse, funding has not been provided to begin the program,” said state spokesman Terry Horstman.
Illinois has operated without a state budget for more than six months. Disputes between the Democratic-controlled legislature and Republican Gov. Bruce Rauner over spending have created the impasse.
“It has been kind of bananas here,” Zalewski said.
He said he might have to push for a follow-up bill to ensure the program remains since it is supposed to expire on Jan. 1, 2017.
Once the program gets underway, a participating pharmacy must fill any prescription for a drug containing hydrocodone in a non-reusable bottle with a lock, the law says. Those painkillers include Oxycontin, Vicodin and Percoset. The program doesn’t extend to prescriptions reimbursed through Medicare Part D and Medicaid and nursing home patients.
The pharmacy would receive a rebate from the state to cover the cost of the combination-lock pill bottle, which is about $10.
After the yearlong program ends, Zalewski said he hopes the market responds accordingly and there is enough demand for the locking bottles. Either pharmacies will provide the bottles to meet demand or advocates will push for legislation to mandate their use, he added.
The program comes as Congress and the states are pushing for solutions.
There are no bills in Congress to introduce similar programs. Some measures have focused on diversion, though.
A bill Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., filed last year would allow prescription drug plan sponsors to restrict access by certain people to frequently abused drugs, according to a synopsis of the package.
Manchin also seeks to give states more money to tackle opioid abuse and requires more training for doctors on how to spot a potential addict and properly dispense painkillers.
The bill was filed in May but has not gone anywhere in the Senate.
Zalewski doesn’t expect much help from Congress on addressing the opioid epidemic, and said it is up to states to find their own path to combat the problem.
For now, he is trying to keep the pill bottle program intact as the state clashes over its budget.
“I believe in the program and I think eventually it will become something we can hang our hat on,” he told the Washington Examiner. “I will try to keep it stable.”
