This bill mandates that health carriers develop a comprehensive program to provide access to a wide range of pain management services for individuals suffering from chronic pain. The program must adhere to guidelines set by the insurance department and include non-medication and non-surgical treatment options, as well as non-opioid medication alternatives. Health carriers are required to inform covered individuals about the program and ensure that this information is publicly accessible on their websites. Additionally, they must distribute educational materials to providers within their networks and cannot impose prior authorization requirements for accessing the pain management program.

The bill also allows health carriers to implement utilization controls for clinically appropriate non-opioid drugs, but these controls cannot be more restrictive than those applied to opioid drugs. The legislation aims to address the opioid crisis by increasing access to evidence-based, non-opioid therapies while ensuring that the standards for determining the availability of these therapies are equitable across different types of providers. The effective date for the provisions of this act is set for January 1, 2027, contingent upon the status of another related bill (SB 548) from the 2026 legislative session.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 420-A:2, 420-B:20