Staff Reports
INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana will fund a nearly $1 million distribution of naloxone, an opioid reversal agent, to make sure the medication reaches at-risk Hoosiers.
Gov. Eric J. Holcomb and the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration announced the distribution Monday.
Overdose Lifeline, Inc., an Indiana nonprofit, will distribute 25,000 doses of the antidote to first responders, families, friends and other individuals who may be first on the scene if someone overdoses.
First responders, families, caregivers and other individuals who would like to receive a supply of naloxone can register online at overdoselifeline.org/2020-indiana-naloxone-request. The funding for this distribution project was provided by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s state opioid response grant.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is an approved medication for preventing opioid overdose. The medication is given when a person shows signs of an overdose, and it blocks the toxic effects of the overdose.
The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and Indiana Department of Homeland Security (ISDH) also announced that emergency medical responders will be reimbursed in full through the state’s Medicaid program when they administer naloxone. This change in payment policy will begin on July 1, making Indiana one of the first states to pay EMS providers for both the administration of the medication and the medication itself. Before this change, EMS personnel were able to administer Naloxone under an expiring federal grant.
Also as of July 1, Indiana Health Coverage Programs — including the Healthy Indiana Plan, Hoosier Healthwise, Hoosier Care Connect and Traditional Medicaid — will reimburse specialty providers who bill the state after administering naloxone.
For more information, visit in.gov/isdh/27616.htm.
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Visit in.gov/isdh/27616.htm to learn more about the naloxone distribution.
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