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sSB365 / File No. 157 1
General Assembly File No. 157
February Session, 2026 Substitute Senate Bill No. 365
Senate, March 24, 2026
The Committee on Public Health reported through SEN.
ANWAR of the 3rd Dist., Chairperson of the Committee on the
part of the Senate, that the substitute bill ought to pass.
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A BRIDGE PROGRAM FOR EMERGENCY
TREATMENT AND RECOVERY NAVIGATION FOR PERSONS WITH
AN OPIOID USE DISORDER.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2026) (a) As used in this section: 1
(1) "Bridging prescription" means a temporary, short -term 2
prescription issued to ensure continuity of medication while a patient 3
awaits specialized care; 4
(2) "Buprenorphine" means a synthetic opiate with partial agonist 5
actions used in the treatment of opioid use disorder; 6
(3) "Community provider" means a health care provider that is 7
licensed and equipped to administer buprenorphine or methadone; 8
(4) "Last-dose letter" means a formal, sealed document provided by a 9
hospital to a patient that confirms the exact date, time and amount of 10
the last dose of methadone administered to the patient; 11
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(5) "Methadone" means a controlled, long -acting full opioid agonist 12
medication used in the treatment of opioid use disorder; 13
(6) "Opioid antagonist" means naloxone hydrochloride or any other 14
similarly acting and equally safe drug approved by the federal Food and 15
Drug Administration for the treatment of a drug overdose; 16
(7) "Opioid use disorder" means a medical condition characterized by 17
a problematic pattern of opioid use and misuse leading to clinically 18
significant impairment or distress; and 19
(8) "Treatment program" means a program operated by the 20
Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services or approved by 21
the Commissioner of Mental Health and Addiction Services for 22
treatment of the physical and psychological effects of drug dependency 23
or for the detoxification of a drug -dependent person, as defined in 24
section 17a-680 of the general statutes. 25
(b) On and after January 1, 2027, each hospital licensed pursuant to 26
chapter 368v of the general statutes shall (1) administer buprenorphine 27
or methadone to each patient presenting to the hospital's emergency 28
department with symptoms of opioid use disorder without requiring 29
the admission of the patient to the hospital for the sole purpose of such 30
administration, provided (A) the administration of buprenorphine or 31
methadone is clinically indicated, and (B) the patient consents to such 32
administration, (2) offer the patient a prescription for or a supply of an 33
opioid antagonist at the time of such patient's discharge from the 34
emergency department and, if the patient accepts the offer, provide the 35
patient with such prescription or dispense an opioid antagonist to the 36
patient, and (3) refer the patient to one or more local treatment programs 37
or community providers, provided the hospital shall refer a patient to 38
whom the hospital administered methadone to a treatment program or 39
community provider that administers methadone. If a hospital 40
administers buprenorphine to a patient under this subsection, the 41
hospital shall provide the patient with a bridging prescription for 42
buprenorphine for the time period during which the patient will be 43
awaiting treatment from the local treatment program or community 44
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provider to which the hospital refers the patient. If a hospital 45
administers methadone to a patient under this subsection, the hospital 46
shall provide the patient with a last -dose letter to provide to the local 47
treatment program or community provider to which the hospital refers 48
the patient. 49
(c) Nothing in this section shall be construed to (1) require the 50
provision of any medication when clinically contraindicated, (2) limit 51
the exercise of professional judgment by a treating clinician, or (3) 52
preclude the use of any medication other than buprenorphine or 53
methadone for opioid use disorder when such medication is clinically 54
indicated and the patient consents to the administration of such 55
medication. 56
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2026 New section
PH Joint Favorable Subst.
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The following Fiscal Impact Statement and Bill Analysis are prepared for the benefit of the members of
the General Assembly, solely for purposes of information, summarization and explanation and do not
represent the intent of the General Assembly or either chamber thereof for any purpose. In general,
fiscal impacts are based upon a variety of informational sources, including the analyst’s professional
knowledge. Whenever applicable, agency data is consulted as part of the analysis, however final
products do not necessarily reflect an assessment from any specific department.
OFA Fiscal Note
State Impact:
Agency Affected Fund-Effect FY 27 $ FY 28 $
UConn Health Ctr. GF - Potential
Revenue
Loss/Savings
See Below See Below
UConn Health Ctr. GF – Cost See Below See Below
Note: OF=Other Funds
Municipal Impact: None
Explanation
The bill results in both a potential revenue loss and a potential
savings, annually beginning in FY 27, to the UConn Health Center
(UCHC). It requires hospital emergency departments to administer
certain drugs to patients presenting with symptoms of substa nce use
disorder without requiring in -patient admission. Any impacts will be
half-year in FY 27 as the requirements take effect 1/1/27.
The bill may reduce the number of in -patient admissions to UCHC ,
to the extent that patients may have otherwise been admitted for this
treatment. If a reduction in in-patient admissions occurs, the net impact
will depend on the payer mix of those patients. A reduction in privately
insured admissions would result in a revenue loss to UCHC, while a
reduction in uninsured or underinsured admissions w ould result in a
savings.
The bill additionally results in a potential cost to UCHC annually
beginning in FY 27 by requiring UCHC to offer an opioid antagonist, or
a prescription for an opioid antagonist, to patients presenting to the
emergency department with symptoms of substance use disorder. To
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the extent that this increases the number of opioid antagonists provided
without payment from patients or insurance, there is a cost to UCHC of
$35 to $50 per unit.1
The Out Years
The annualized ongoing fiscal impact identified above would
continue into the future subject to the number changes in UCHC in -
patient admissions, the payer mix of those patients, and the number of
opioid antagonists UCHC provides.
1 A box of Narcan costs about $35 to $50 and contains two doses.
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OLR Bill Analysis
sSB 365
AN ACT ESTABLISHING A BRIDGE PROGRAM FOR EMERGENCY
TREATMENT AND RECOVERY NAVIGATION FOR PERSONS WITH
AN OPIOID USE DISORDER.
SUMMARY
Starting January 1, 2027, this bill requires hospitals to administer
buprenorphine or methadone to a patient who presents to the
emergency department with symptoms of opioid use disorder without
requiring the patient to be admitted solely to do so. Under the bill,
hospitals must do this only if administering the medication is medically
indicated and the patient consents to it.
Additionally, the bill requires hospitals to (1) offer these patients a
prescription for or a supply of an opioid antagonist (e.g., Narcan) when
they are discharged from the emergency department (and provide it if
they accept the offer) and (2) refer them to local community providers
licensed and equipped to administer these medications or Department
of Mental Health and Addiction Services -operated or -approved
treatment programs. For the latter, hospitals must refer patients
administered methadone to a tre atment program or community
provider that administers the medication.
Under the bill, hospitals must give patients administered
buprenorphine a bridging prescription for the medication to cover the
time during which they are waiting to be seen by their referred
community provider or treatment program. For patients administer ed
methadone, hospitals must give them a last-dose letter to give to their
referred program or provider. (A “last-dose letter” is a formal, sealed
document that confirms the exact date, time, and amount of the patient’s
last methadone dose.)
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The bill expressly provides that it does not (1) require providers to
give these medications when medically contraindicated, (2) limit a
treating clinician’s ability to exercise professional judgement, or (3)
prevent the use of other medications to treat opioid use disorder when
it is clinically appropriate and the patient consents to it.
EFFECTIVE DATE: October 1, 2026
COMMITTEE ACTION
Public Health Committee
Joint Favorable Substitute
Yea 20 Nay 11 (03/09/2026)