Bill > HB1186

This bill establishes the Pain Relief Parity Act, which requires the Arkansas Medicaid Program to provide fair and equal treatment for non-opioid pain medications compared to opioid pain medications. Specifically, the bill mandates that the Department of Human Services cannot disadvantage non-opioid drugs approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) when creating its formulary and preferred drug list. This means the department cannot designate non-opioid pain medications as non-preferred drugs if opioid drugs are designated as preferred, nor can they impose more restrictive prior authorization or step therapy requirements on non-opioid pain medications compared to opioid medications. The goal of this legislation appears to be ensuring patients have equitable access to pain management treatments, potentially reducing potential barriers to non-opioid pain relief options and providing more flexibility in treatment choices within the Medicaid program.

Health and Social Services

https://arkleg.state.ar.us/Bills/Detail?id=hb1186&ddBienniumSession=2025%2F2025R