Maine Gov. Wants Repeat Recipients Of Narcan To Pay For It

AUGUSTA, MAINE (CBS) – The governor of Maine is seeking to charge people who overdose and are revived by the opioid antidote Narcan more than once.

Gov. Paul LePage's proposal is called "An Act To Require That Municipalities and Counties Recover The Cost Of Opioid Antagonist Treatment From Repeat Recipients." It would subject communities to a $1,000 fine if they don't try to recoup the cost of Narcan administered to a person a second time.

In 2016, Maine saw more than one drug-induced death per day.

CBS News reported in December that the price of Narcan has skyrocketed, up to $142 for a 10-pack.

The Bangor Daily News interviewed a health official who called the bill an attempt to "codify our society's bias about addiction into law."

"If a person suffers more than one cardiac arrest will they have to pay for the second use of a defibrillator?" Dr. Noah Nesin of Penobscot Community Health Care told the newspaper.

LePage said last year when vetoing a bill about Narcan that it "does not truly save lives; it merely extends them until the next overdose."