Indiana extends needle exchange program with new restrictions experts say could roll back progress

CLARK COUNTY, Ind. (WDRB) — The Indiana Needle Exchange Program is feeling a slight pinch.

Lawmakers have voted to extend the program, but with new restrictions some health professionals say could limit its effectiveness.

In 2015, an HIV outbreak in Austin, Indiana, exposed the dirty needle problems in the Hoosier state. After 200 people in the rural area contracted HIV, Scott County leaders funded a needle exchange program. Within a short period of time, the infection rate dropped.

But county commissioners voted to end the program in 2021.

Since its start in 2017, Clark County’s program has distributed nearly 600,000 sterile syringes, along with other harm reduction supplies. It’s also referred hundreds of participants to addiction recovery programs and helped detect infectious diseases early.

"Usually hepatitis and HIV — and we’ve diagnosed a lot of cases much earlier,” said Dr. Eric Yazel, Clark County health officer. “This is a patient population that doesn’t typically access health care in traditional ways. For some, this is their only medical interaction.”

Under the new legislation passed at the statehouse, counties can still choose whether to operate a needle exchange program. But once Gov. Mike Braun signs the bill, programs will be required to follow stricter rules — including a “one-for-one” exchange policy, meaning one clean syringe can only be issued for each used syringe returned.

“So if you come in with 25 syringes, you’ll get 25 to go on,” Yazel explained.

Health officials worry the new rule could push users back toward unsafe practices.

“If somebody runs short, you get back to needle sharing and unsterile use — exactly the problems these programs are meant to prevent,” Yazel said.

The new legislation also ends one of the cornerstones of harm reduction programs: anonymity. Participants will now be required to show valid identification and proof of residence in the county they’re being served.

“We need to protect personal health information like any other health service,” said Yazel.

In Scott County, the remnants of the needle exchange program are now just a few disposal bins a reminder of what’s at stake as Indiana moves forward with new rules.

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