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Patients and recovery advocates press committee to remove barriers to non‑opioid pain treatments
Summary
SB 5,916 would bar prescription policies that disadvantage non‑opioid drugs when opioids are preferred; patient and recovery advocates testified in force, while payers warned of potential cost and managed‑care impacts. Sponsors and agencies acknowledged room for drafting clarity.
Senate Bill 5,916 seeks to prevent insurance drug‑benefit designs from disadvantaging non‑opioid drugs for pain when opioid drugs are designated preferred. Committee staff described a proposal that would prohibit plans from designating a nonopioid as nonpreferred if opioids are preferred within a drug class, require that utilization management not disadvantage nonopioid options, and direct the Department of Health to publish an educational pamphlet on nonopioid alternatives.
Patient advocates and recovery community…
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