Virginia State Legislative Issues

Inclusive Home Design Act Introduced

For Immediate Release:

Access Living of Metropolitan Chicago applauds the introduction of new federal legislation called the Inclusive Home Design Act (IHDA). The new legislation, introduced on March 10 by U.S. Representative Jan Schakowsky, will dramatically increase the number of homes accessible to people with disabilities.

The Inclusive Home Design Act aims to increase the number of homes accessible to people with disabilities by applying visitability standards. The principle of visitability seeks to create homes that are affordable and sustainable, and utilize a design approach that integrates accessibility features into newly-built homes.

The legislation intends to reverse a national trend that locks people with disabilities out of the housing market. Currently, 95 percent of new single-family homes and townhouses built with federal assistance fail to incorporate accessibility features, making it impossible for many people with disabilities to live in or visit the homes. "Whether you have a disability or you don't have a disability, everyone needs and everyone has a right to housing," said Beto Barrera, Access Living's Housing Team Leader. "Because we continue to build inaccessible housing in this country, housing options for people with disabilities are severely limited."

The Inclusive Home Design Act would require that all newly-built single-family homes and townhouses receiving federal funds meet four specific standards:
" Include at least one accessible ("zero step") entrance into the home
" Ensure all doorways on the main floor have a minimum of 32 inches of clear passage space
" Build at least one wheelchair accessible bathroom on the main floor
" Place electrical and climate controls (such as light switches and thermostats) at heights reachable from a wheelchair
"We applaud the Schakowsky for building support around, and introducing the Inclusive Home Design Act," Barrera went on. "With this new legislation, the housing market for people with disabilities will open up dramatically. Not only will we recognize the right of people with disabilities to pursue housing opportunities on a more level playing field, we will save thousands of dollars in renovation and retrofitting costs."

The legislation applies only to new construction. The average added cost per home for the required features runs from $98 to $573. Adding accessible features after construction often costs several thousand dollars.

Chicago's only center for independent living, Access Living is a cross-disability organization, nationally recognized as a leader in the field of independent living and a premier local provider of services for people with disabilities.

For more information contact Gary Arnold at Access Living, 312-640-2199 (voice), 312-640-2102 (TTY).

Subject: FDA Approves New Formulation for OxyContin®

On April 5, 2010, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a new formulation of the controlled release drug OxyContin® that is designed to help discourage the abuse of the medication. Purdue Pharma, the maker of the drug, plans to replace 90% of the oxycodone supply with the new formulation within six to eight weeks and will ultimately take the old formulation off the market. The mechanism within OxyContin® slowly releases oxycodone for patients that require opioid analgesics for management of their moderate to severe pain for longer periods of time. Since OxyContin® has controlled-release properties, each tablet contains a large quantity of oxycodone which is released over twelve (12) hours, thus allowing the drug to be taken just twice a day. However, the medication is also
commonly abused by altering the tablet to release the entire dose all at once, which can result in fatal overdoses.

The new formulation of OxyContin® is designed to prevent the medication from being cut, broken, chewed, crushed or dissolved, methods by which drug abusers release all of the medication at once. This may be an improvement that results in less risk of potential overdose and is likely to result in less abuse by snorting or injection. However, it can still be abused by simply taking larger doses than are recommended. According to the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health, approximately half of a million people used OxyContin® non-medically for the first time in 2008.

The manufacturer of OxyContin® will be required by the FDA to supply a Risk Evaluation and Mitigation Strategy (REMS) with the new product. This will include the issuance of a medication guide to patients and a requirement for prescriber education regarding the appropriate use of opioid analgesics in the treatment and management of pain.
Pricing information is not yet available, although the average wholesale price (AWP) of OxyContin® is expected to increase upon the release of the new formulation to the marketplace. First Script will continue to provide updates regarding patent and pricing information as it becomes available. If you have any questions regarding this bulletin, please contact your First Script Account Manager.