The New York State Senate is announcing the passage of eleven bills that are part of a three way agreement between the Senate, Assembly and Governor Cuomo.

The package includes a bill sponsored by Senator James Seward that would improve access to insurance coverage for substance abuse treatment and dependency services.

Other bills included in the package target prevention, treatment and enforcement issues raised during testimony at 18 forums held by the Senate's Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid addiction.

“Heroin addiction is a menace infiltrating all social, economic, and geographic sectors of our state and taking a deadly toll,” said Senator Seward.  “Thanks to the work of the Senate Joint Task Force on Heroin and Opioid Addiction, we now have a multi-prong strategy to combat this epidemic that includes education and prevention, treatment, and tougher law enforcement.”

More From WIBX 950