Senate committee begins work on bill limiting opioid prescriptions

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The state Senate started debate Tuesday on a bill aimed at reducing the availability of powerful painkillers.

The bill (SB 273) puts strict limits on how many pain pills physicians and other health care professionals can prescribe at one time, with certain exceptions.

The bill is in response to the opioid crisis. West Virginia has the highest per capita death rate in the country from drug overdoses. Health statistics show that one person dies in the state every ten hours from a drug overdose.

The bill, under consideration in the Senate Health Committee, limits physicians to prescribing just a seven-day supply of opioids. Emergency room doctors, dentists and optometrists would be limited to prescribing a three day supply.

Patients could get larger prescriptions on subsequent visits after a more thorough evaluation by the doctor.

The legislation includes certain exemptions for people with cancer or in hospice care.





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