The U.S. Senate race in PA shaped up to be a battleground race in 2016.

On the Democratic side, Joe Sestak, Katie McGinty and John Fetterman were the candidates, with McGinty winning the nomination.  She will face incumbent Pat Toomey in November.

Senator Toomey and Congressman Rothfus ran unopposed in their primary races Tuesday and instead they addressed the heroin issue in the region with doctors at Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center.

They said it is a problem that both Democrats and Republicans will have to address during their campaigns for the general election.

Toomey discussed a three part program he wants to work on.  His first goal is to reduce over prescription.  He said an individual’s path to heroin addiction starts with prescription drug addiction.

Toomey also wants to improve the quality of treatment and access to treatment.  He told us addiction is often linked to a mental issue, but not always.

The final part of Toomey’s plan includes his legislation that recently passed in the Senate.  It will crack down on people who go to several physicians, get multiple narcotics, go to the pharmacies, and get them filled.

The legislation will lock the patient to one doctor and one pharmacy.

“I know it’s a very serious issue here in Johnstown and Cambria County and I know it’s no comfort to you, but it is a problem in every county in the commonwealth.  There is no demographic that is spared.  There is no age group that is spared.  There is no geographical area of the state that is spared,” the senator said.

Toomey also suggested changing the reimbursement factor of the survey given to patients that asks how well the hospital worked to eliminate their pain.  Medicare reimburses hospitals in part based on those scores.  Toomey said it can be a financial incentive for hospitals to over prescribe and it may be unintentional, but he said it’s another avenue that leads to the heroin issue.