Amendment #8 to H4743

Removing barriers to non-opioid pain management

Ms. Decker of Cambridge moves to amend the bill by inserting the following sections:-

"SECTION XXXX. Section 47KK of chapter 175 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended in subsection (a) by adding the following paragraph:-

Any policy, contract, agreement, plan or certificate of insurance issued, delivered or renewed within the Commonwealth, which is considered creditable coverage under this section, shall not require a member to obtain a preauthorization for alternative pain management services identified by the carrier as necessary to comply with said guidelines developed by the division of insurance.

SECTION XXXX. Said section 47KK of said chapter 175 is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Carriers shall annually distribute educational materials to providers and members within their networks about the pain management access plan and make information about their plans publicly available on their websites.

SECTION XXXX. Section 8MM of Chapter 176A of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended in subsection (a) by adding the following paragraph:-

Any policy, contract, agreement, plan or certificate of insurance issued, delivered or renewed within the Commonwealth, which is considered creditable coverage under this section, shall not require a member to obtain a preauthorization for alternative pain management services identified by the carrier as necessary to comply with said guidelines developed by the division of insurance.

SECTION XXXX. Said section 8MM of said chapter 176A is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Carriers shall annually distribute educational materials to providers and members within their networks about the pain management access plan and make information about their plans publicly available on their websites.

SECTION XXXX. Section 4MM of Chapter 176B of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended in subsection (a) by adding the following paragraph:-

Any policy, contract, agreement, plan or certificate of insurance issued, delivered or renewed within the Commonwealth, which is considered creditable coverage under this section, shall not require a member to obtain a preauthorization for alternative pain management services identified by the carrier as necessary to comply with said guidelines developed by the division of insurance.

SECTION XXXX. Said section 4MM of said chapter 176B is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Carriers shall annually distribute educational materials to providers and members within their networks about the pain management access plan and make information about their plans publicly available on their websites.

SECTION XXXX. Section 4EE of Chapter 176G of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2020 Official Edition, is hereby amended in subsection (a) by adding the following paragraph:-

Any policy, contract, agreement, plan or certificate of insurance issued, delivered or renewed within the commonwealth, which is considered creditable coverage under this section, shall not require a member to obtain a preauthorization for alternative pain management services identified by the carrier as necessary to comply with said guidelines developed by the division of insurance.

SECTION XXXX. Said section 4EE of said chapter 176G is hereby further amended by striking out subsection (c) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(c) Carriers shall annually distribute educational materials to providers and members within their networks about the pain management access plan and make information about their plans publicly available on their websites."

Additional co-sponsor(s) added to Amendment #8, as changed to H4743

Removing barriers to non-opioid pain management