More states are requiring their Medicaid programs and health insurance companies to cover non-opioid pain medications as an alternative to opioids, which can be cheaper for insurers but also more addictive for patients.
Advocates, providers, medical associations and state lawmakers are pushing for parity in coverage. That means prohibiting insurers from charging higher copayments for non-opioids than they do for opioids, and barring them from requiring prior authorization or step therapy -- mandating that patients try other medications first -- before they will cover non-opioid drugs.
At least eight states have enacted such laws: Arkansas, Illinois, Louisiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, Oregon and Tennessee. In states that are still considering legislation, the efforts have been bipartisan, pushed by lawmakers in Democratic-controlled states such as Colorado and New York and Republican-leaning states including Kentucky and Missouri.
The issue has gained momentum in recent years, as leading medical associations such as the American Society of Regional Anesthesia and Pain Medicine have urged providers not to prescribe opioids as the first-line treatment for pain. Meanwhile,...
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