What’s next after Christie’s anti-opioid mission outline

The fight against the opioid drug epidemic always has been a priority for Gov. Chris Christie, and he announced this week it would be his mission for his final year in office.

The Republican outlined a series of initiatives and ideas to tackle the problem that claimed nearly 1,600 lives in 2015 in New Jersey.

Lawmakers reacted warmly to his request for them to require insurers to pay for at least six months of treatment. Democratic state Sen. Joe Vitale is a Christie ally on drug addiction issues, but he says there will be cost and regulatory issues to sort through.

Christie also called for doctors to only be able to prescribe five days of opioid drugs. A doctors group says limits decrease the quality of care for pain patients.