Maine’s Congressional delegation has asked the US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to clarify federal guidance that could potentially result in new costs for Maine emergency medical services (EMS) agencies.
In a letter sent to DEA Administrator Terrance Cole, all four members of Maine’s delegation explained the confusion that currently exists surrounding the agency’s implementation of a 2017 law.
Under the Controlled Substances Act (CSA), along with related DEA regulations, any practice that dispenses controlled substances must register with the government.
Prior to 2017, EMS agencies were not specifically mentioned, meaning that they were able to procure and dispense controlled substances without needing to register, something that the lawmakers said allows “EMS to acquire medications and supplies from hospital partners to do their critical work.”
As explained in their letter, the Protecting Patient Access to Emergency Medicines Act of 2017 (PPAEMA) was “intended to codify existing law and ensure EMS responders operate seamlessly under the supervision of a licensed physician,” but had the effect of creating “disruption and confusion for Maine’s healthcare system.”
“The conflicting interpretations of this rule have led our state’s largest hospital networks to abruptly terminate long-standing agreements held with local EMS providers for such medical supplies,” the lawmakers wrote. “Therefore, swift clarification from the DEA is urgently needed not only to prevent exorbitant, unexpected costs from being forced onto Maine’s EMS agencies but also to preserve vital local partnerships.”
“Therefore, we ask DEA to issue clarifying guidance as soon as possible to prevent further confusion and to ensure more unnecessary costs are not borne by our EMS agencies,” they concluded.
