SAN DIEGO, April 15, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- HeroinDetoxClinics.com outlines new plan to combat heroin addiciton and the opioid epidemic. Maryland’s Medicaid Health Insurance has switched its drug of choice from Suboxone to Zubsolv to help ease opioid withdrawals in inmates.
Suboxone is a dissolvable film strip and Zubsolv is a pill that dissolves under the tongue. Both of these drugs are used for the treatment of opioid dependence and should be used in conjunction with a full treatment planned by a licensed professional. Both drugs contain both buprenorphine and a drug called naloxone that reverses the effects of an overdose, although Suboxone has a higher amount of buprenorphine. Naloxone is used by emergency responders to revive people who overdose.
So why the switch? State officials say the change was made to stop the illicit flow of the drug into jails and prisons. The Suboxone strips, similar to Listerine dissolvable strips, was seized in 2300 cases illegally going into jails to be sold to inmates. It is very easy to hide and smuggle in through all kinds of creative ways. Once jailer saw inmates eating pages out of a Bible. The following investigation found that Suboxone strips were being melted into the page, brought or mailed into the jail, pages were marked and then consumed. So Medicaid took Suboxone off the covered drug list and switched to Zubsolv to combat the smuggling.
This, however, has not been met with positive responses by the rest of the Medicaid patients who are struggling recovering addicts. Suboxone has been immensely helpful to keep the withdrawal symptoms at bay so those in recovery can reclaim a normal, healthy life. They are not having the same results with Zubsolv. Many are experiencing severe withdrawal symptoms, trouble sleeping, feeling sick and making life very difficult and relapse a very real possibility.
Doctors are reporting the same findings with their patients. Many who have been very successful on Suboxone are struggling with the lack of help they get when taking Zubsolv. People are asking for help from Medicaid to make Suboxone a covered medication outside the jail and prison system. Why punish everyone if the problem is in a very small and specific situation?
Author: Kevin Leonard
Organization: Heroin Detox Clinics
Address: 402 West Broadway, #400, San Diego, CA 92101
Phone: 888-325-2454
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