Pubdate: Sun, 02 Sep 2001 Source: Rutland Herald (VT) Copyright: 2001 Rutland Herald Contact: http://rutlandherald.nybor.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/892 Author: Associated Press Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?136 (Methadone) EFFORT TO OPEN METHADONE CLINICS MAKES GRADUAL PROGRESS MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) - Health officials are making headway in their efforts to open methadone clinics in Vermont but they say any program is still months away. The state has made some concessions in its negotiations with hospitals considering hosting methadone maintenance programs. The Department of Health has agreed to cover the cost of uninsured patients who enroll in the programs, and indicated a willingness to raise considerably the rate at which hospitals are reimbursed. Thomas Perras, the director of the department's Office of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs, said the state was committed to providing this service to Vermonters addicted to opiates. "We've got a lot of sick people out in the streets and our priority is to get them help," he said Friday. "The key for us is getting them off the street and using, and begin recovering." It has been more than a year since the Legislature passed a law allowing the use of methadone to treat heroin addiction. It has been a hot button issue since then, with proponents and opponents publicly squaring off to debate the merits of the treatment. Estimates based on other programs suggest that just under half of the patients would not have insurance Perras said a reimbursement schedule had not been agreed upon with officials from the three hospitals that had expressed interest in starting the program. However, discussions do appear to be settling on a dosage rate in the mid $20 range, a considerably higher figure than the $5.50 the state had originally proposed. That fee would cover the costs of the methadone as well as laboratory costs, training for staff and in some cases increased security personnel, Perras said. Including both state and federal funding, there is a little more than $1.3 million to fund the programs. That figure was based largely on the $5.50 rate and was estimated to last for one year. Hospital officials continue to tread carefully, wary of signing up for a program that could have financial implications in the future if the state fails to live up to its side of the bargain. Representatives from Rutland Regional Medical Center and Fletcher Allen Health Care in Burlington said this week they had not included any funding for the programs in their 2000 budgets. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake