Op-ed: Non-opioid pain medications will help West Virginia fight overdose crisis
Trending
It is no secret that our state has struggled to deal with the effects of the opioid epidemic. Our state leads the nation in per capita overdose deaths. Fortunately, we are also working to lead the way in recovery and treatment.
One of the ways we can help address the opioid and overdose crisis in this state is by working to reduce the number of painkillers prescribed. We need to focus on other means of treating pain, be that with physical therapy or if it is with the new non-opioid pain medications that are currently being reviewed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
These new types of non-opioid pain killers are revolutionary. They can be used to treat acute pain without the use of opioids. The non-opioid medications are not addictive and they will help us reduce the number of opioid pain killers prescribed. This will in turn help us strike a significant blow against addiction and substance use disorder. Obviously reducing opioid prescriptions will help reduce the number of people who become addicted to the painkillers.
The overdose crisis in this state was sparked by opioid abuse and addiction. Doctors around the state and the nation overprescribed pain killers, and pharmacies filled those prescriptions without a care as to the consequences. Thousands of people became addicted, and thousands of people died.
As authorities made prescription pain killers more difficult to obtain, people began turning to other illicit drugs like heroin and fentanyl. This further fueled the overdose crisis that became the worst public health crisis we have ever seen.
Now leaders throughout this state are working to turn the corner. Treatment options are becoming more readily accessible. First responders are armed with Naloxone to reverse overdoses and we are working to reduce the stigma associated with treatment.
Now we need to make sure we can get these new revolutionary non-opioid medications to the people who need them the most. To do so, we must make sure that people can access them through their insurance companies.
A bill that would prohibit insurance companies from prioritizing opioids over non-opioid medications for a person who has been diagnosed with substance use disorder was introduced last session. House Bill 5340 passed the West Virginia House of Delegates unanimously but died in the Senate Banking and Insurance Committee without a vote.
Some of the concerns about the bill is the cost of the non-opioid medications and what that would mean for insurance carriers, including PEIA and Medicaid. Non-opioid medications are new and therefore will be more expensive than opioids.
We need to make sure that insurance companies cannot prioritize money over the health of our communities, our neighbors, and our families. The consequences of substance use disorder and opioid addiction far exceed the initial cost of the non-opioid medications themselves.
Studies show that in 2016, the cost of the opioid epidemic in West Virginia was about $8.72 billion. That includes more than $28 million to treat substance use disorder and $77 million in criminal justice costs. Those numbers have only grown in the past eight years.
That total figure does not consider the social damage that the opioid epidemic has caused. What dollar amount do we put on the life of a mother, a child or a loved one? That life is invaluable, and we are losing them in record numbers to opioids.
I hope leaders throughout the state recognize the need to get more non-opioids in the hands of people who need pain management and that Governor Justice adds this bill to the call for a special session later this spring and that the legislators support it.
***
Rich Sutphin is the executive director of The West Virginia Rural Health Association.