Apr. 06, 2021
HARRISBURG – Legislation sponsored by Rep. Jack Rader (R-Monroe) that would assist Pennsylvania residents with drug addictions to receive treatment was unanimously approved by the House Human Services Committee today.
House Bill 220 will next be considered by the full House of Representatives.
Rader’s proposal would clarify that a person cannot be denied admission to a public or private treatment and rehabilitative facility based solely on a negative drug test. Facilities may still deny treatment for other than clinical reasons to those with a negative test.
“Unfortunately, the motivation for this bill is a tragedy that occurred in my own legislative district,” said Rader. “A young man who was clean still needed help for a drug problem. He allegedly was told a positive drug test was required to be accepted for treatment. So, he decided to use an opioid in an effort to test positive and tragically suffered an overdose that killed him.”
Rader sponsored similar legislation during the last session that passed unanimously in the House but failed to advance in the Senate.
Representative Jack Rader
176th Legislative District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives