The bill amends various chapters of the General Laws related to health insurance by introducing a new section that mandates health insurance providers to develop plans ensuring adequate coverage and access to a broad spectrum of pain management services. This includes nonopioid and nonnarcotic medications, as well as nonmedication alternatives to opioids and narcotics. The requirement applies to all individual or group health insurance contracts that provide prescription coverage and are delivered, issued for delivery, prescribed, or renewed in the state on or after January 1, 2027.

Additionally, the bill stipulates that health insurance carriers must submit their pain management access plans to the health insurance commissioner for approval. The commissioner will evaluate the plans based on the adequacy of access to pain management services and ensure that there is no undue preference for opioid prescriptions over other pain management options. Furthermore, insurance carriers are required to distribute educational materials to network providers about the pain management access plans and to post information about these plans on their publicly accessible websites. The act will take effect upon passage.