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Hearing held on Nonopioid Coverage Parity Act to expand state health-plan coverage of alternatives to opioids
Summary
Representative Michelle Au presented HB 326 to require the state health benefit plan to cover qualifying nonopioid medications at rates no less favorable than opioids; medical and recovery-community witnesses testified in support, and the committee designated the measure a hearing-only bill while agencies finalize technical and fiscal language.
Lawmakers heard testimony on HB 326, the Nonopioid Coverage Parity Act, a bill sponsored by Representative Michelle Au that would require the State Health Benefit Plan (SHBP) to provide coverage for qualifying nonopioid pain medications on terms no less favorable than coverage for opioid medications.
Representative Michelle Au, an anesthesiologist, told the committee the measure is narrowly tailored to the SHBP (not Medicaid) as a pilot to assess effectiveness and fiscal impacts. She said short postoperative opioid exposure "—three to five days"—can sharply increase the risk of dependence and argued that insurance coverage sometimes biases prescribing toward opioids when alternatives are not covered.…
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