Chair Moses and members of the Assembly Committee on Health, Aging, and Long-term Care:
As many of you know, I served in the Assembly for nearly 14 years, including as co-chair of the Joint Committee on Finance for three sessions. One of my proudest accomplishments during my time in the Legislature was the passage of the HOPE Agenda, a package of bills passed over two sessions to fight heroin and opiate addiction in Wisconsin.
One of the bills that was passed as part of the HOPE Agenda modernized Wisconsin’s prescription drug monitoring program (PDMP), ensuring nearly real-time tracking of opioid prescriptions to discourage “doctor shopping,” and ultimately reducing the number of Wisconsinites who become addicted to prescription opiates.
The original bill that was passed as part of the HOPE Agenda included a 3-year sunset clause on the PDMP, which was later extended through this year. I sincerely thank Senator Testin and Representative Dittrich for continuing the important work of combatting the opioid epidemic in Wisconsin, and wholeheartedly support this bill, which extends the sunset provision for another 5 years.
I would also urge the bill authors and members of this committee to consider permanently authorizing this bill, and repealing the sunset provision altogether – this change to state law has worked to reduce opioid addiction and deaths in our state, and permanently enshrining this provision would serve to curtail the misuse and abuse of these drugs for generations of Wisconsinites to come.
Thank you for your time, and please don’t hesitate to reach out with any questions.
