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Subcommittee backs S.161, a pain-parity bill to expand access to non-opioid treatments; two amendments adopted
Summary
Voices for Non Opioid Choices, recovery advocates and a range of committee members urged the subcommittee to advance S.161, which would reduce administrative barriers to FDA‑approved non‑opioid alternatives. The panel adopted two technical amendments and moved the bill to the full committee.
The South Carolina Senate Medical Affairs subcommittee voted to advance S.161, a bill intended to expand access to non‑opioid pain-management options and limit burdensome utilization management requirements that advocates say impede patients’ access to alternatives.
Margaret French, vice president with Voices for Non Opioid Choices, told senators the measure mirrors federal proposals to improve access to non‑opioid therapies and that expanding alternatives is a practical step to prevent opioid addiction. “This is a really important piece of legislation that we believe will help prevent opioid addiction by expanding access to non opioid pain treatments,” French said.
Speakers described the scale of opioid-related harms and the rationale for prevention. Testimony cited national and state figures: proponents said the country loses about 200 people per day to opioid overdose and that South Carolina recorded nearly 2,000 opioid-related overdose deaths in 2022, which advocates said represented 81 percent of fatal drug overdoses in the state that year.
The bill includes a requirement that prescribers inform patients about FDA‑approved non‑opioid alternatives and discuss advantages and disadvantages. Committee members adopted two amendments presented by sponsors and staff: one changed statutory wording from “provide” an educational pamphlet to “offer” it to avoid creating a mandatory provision for prescribers; the other removed references to the Department of Health and Human Services where DHHS advised it could implement administrative changes internally for FDA‑approved products.
Mary Grace Loveless and Bruce Loveless representing the Palmetto Foundation for Prevention and Recovery described personal and community programs the foundation runs, including Narcan availability, school programming and mentorship aimed at prevention and recovery.
After amendment votes, the subcommittee voted to send S.161 to the full Medical Affairs committee for further consideration. The record shows some dissent on amendment votes (one senator recorded a “no” on an amendment), but the bill was advanced for additional deliberation.
