U.S. Attorney’s office: Jails obligated to ensure access to opioid use medication

The U.S. Attorney’s office in Philadelphia this week filed a statement of interest in federal court clarifying the obligation of state and local jails to ensure inmates have access to medication used to treat opioid use disorder.

The statement was filed less than two weeks after Allegheny County Jail health officials reached an agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice on a similar matter. Under the agreement, the county was to pay a person at the jail who was denied access to methadone $10,000 for violating the Americans with Disabilities Act.

Opioid use disorder is considered to be a disability covered by federal law.

The justice department’s statement was filed Monday in a civil matter related to similar issues in Delaware County.

U.S. Attorney Jacqueline C. Romero said, through the statement of interest, her office is reminding jails and prisons about their obligations as a way to fight the opioid epidemic.

“Every federal court to consider the question has found that jails likely violate the Americans with Disabilities Act when they refuse as a matter of policy to provide incarcerated persons access to opioid use disorder medication, regardless of the individual circumstances or medical needs,” the filing states.

In addition to the settlement with the Allegheny County Jail, federal authorities said they’ve reached similar agreements with jails and prisons in Eastern Kentucky and Massachusetts.

The Allegheny investigation was opened after the Department of Justice received a complaint that a man was denied methadone at the jail even though he had been receiving treatment from a licensed provider prior to his incarceration. Under the settlement, the county must contract with a licensed opioid treatment provider within six months and ensure all incarcerated people, within two months, are evaluated for opioid use disorder at admission and periodically afterward.