A proposed prescription drug monitoring program is expected to be debated in the state Senate during this final week of the session. Senator Mike Kehoe (R-Jefferson City) determines what bills are debated and says he’ll give some time to the House version of a proposal that would let doctors and pharmacists review how many prescriptions people are having filled.
Senator Mike Kehoe (R-Jefferson City). Photo courtesy, Missouri State Senate Communications.
“We have an awful lot of members who are interested in that, so we’re going to try to find time. The word significant this week in time probably don’t go in the same sentence, but it’s an important issue. Representative Rehder has worked very hard on it,” said Kehoe.
Missouri is the only state in the nation without a prescription drug monitoring program.
“We’ve bantered this thing around long enough that we’re going to have to take a stab at trying to eliminate some of the problems that this could potentially cause. I know that there’s people who say it’s not worth sacrificing your liberty in exchange for this, but that’s just my personal opinion. I’m not going to push what I feel personally about as a priority on the floor. I’m letting the members do that,” said Kehoe.
Senator Rob Schaaf (R-St. Joseph) has promised to filibuster the bill unless voters get the final say. Schaaf has offered his own version that he says would better protect the privacy of patients. His plan would cost an estimated $6 million compared to $4 million for the House plan.