Amendment creates drug overdose prevention mandate

April 9, 2015

At the end of funnel week, the House Public Safety Committee passed legislation dealing with safe harbor of individuals who have voluntarily sought help for drug abuse. The committee added an amendment to Senate File 410 that created a mandate for employers.The amendment required insurance plans to cover time release, tamper proof Abuse Deterrent Formulation (ADF) prescriptions. The ADF opioids are new to the marketplace and do not have a generic form, but the amendment would require them to be placed on the lowest cost tier. Thirteen other states have seen similar legislation this year and to date none have passed. Iowa would be a leader if this legislation passed. Since the bill is a senate file and passed the funnel, the bill is still considered alive for the year. ABI will be watching this bill and other bills that may have mandates attached to them closely.