As the opioid and heroin crisis continues in the North Country, new health insurance regulations aimed at combatting that crisis in the state will go into effect Jan. 1.

Health insurance plans will be required to cover treatment services provided to New Yorkers suffering from opioid addiction, increase access to treatment, expand community prevention strategies, and limit the over-prescription of opioids.

St. Lawrence County has the second-highest opioid related-inpatient hospital admissions rate in the state and in the past four years, drug-related hospital stays have risen more than 60 percent, according to the state Department of Health.

DOH figures also indicate at least 31 people died from opiate or heroin overdoses in St. Lawrence County between 2010 and 2014 and the number appears to be rising.

A legislative package approved earlier this year included several best practices and recommendations identified by the Governor’s Heroin and Opioid Task Force.

The insurance-related protections include four measures to remove burdensome access barriers for inpatient treatment and medication. These measures:

• end prior insurance authorization to allow for immediate access to inpatient treatment as long as such treatment is needed. Insurers must cover necessary inpatient services for the treatment of substance use disorders for as long as an individual needs them. In addition, the legislation establishes that utilization review by insurers can begin only after the first 14 days of treatment, ensuring that every patient receives at least two weeks of uninterrupted care before the insurance company becomes involved.

• end prior insurance authorization to allow for greater access to drug treatment medications. Insurers cannot require prior approval for emergency supplies of drug treatment medications. Similar provisions that also apply to managed care providers treating Medicaid recipients who seek access to buprenorphine and injectable naltrexone took effect in June.

• require all insurance companies use objective state-approved criteria to determine the level of care for individuals suffering from substance abuse. All insurers operating in the state must use objective, state-approved criteria when making coverage determinations for all substance use disorder treatment in order to make sure individuals get the treatment they need.

• mandate insurance coverage for opioid overdose-reversal medication. Insurance companies must cover the costs of naloxone when prescribed to a person who is addicted to opioids and to family members on the same insurance plan.

The new insurance coverage requirements apply to small group and large group plans regulated by the Department of Financial Services that are issued or renewed beginning Jan. 1, as well as plans sold to individual consumers.

The package's other provisions already in effect include enhancing addiction treatment services and strengthening community prevention strategies.

Consumers with questions about the new insurance-related consumer protections are urged to contact DFS at the agency’s toll-free hotline at (800) 342-3736 or at www.dfs.gov.