Limit on opioid prescriptions gets first OK

Three days is not enough, doctors argue

TALLAHASSEE Floridians in acute pain would be limited to a three-day prescription for opioids under a plan that got its first approval from a Senate panel Tuesday.

The legislation, which is meant to help fight the state’s opioid epidemic, is designed to prevent excess medication from entering the black market.

Under the bill, physicians could prescribe only a three-day supply of opiatebased painkillers. Exceptions include cases where they believe a longer supply is medically necessary and there are no alternative treatments; those would qualify for a seven-day prescription.

The new law would not affect those on opioids for chronic pain, and critics point out that opioid prescriptions have generally fallen across the country, even as the opioid crisis has spread.

The bill’s sponsor, state Sen. Lizbeth Benacquisto, R-Fort Myers, countered that many heroin users initially used legal drugs.

“Opioids are killing 16 people per day in Florida,” she said. “Many of those users’ journey of addiction started with prescription medication.”

Doctors groups also opposition to expressed the bill, saying that, for people recovering from major surgery, the seven-day maximum was simply not enough.

They advocated for higher limit, up to 14 days.

“It is a balance to strike to make sure we’re focused on the best solution we can to the overall crisis,” Benacquisto said.

“We’re really trying to find a way to address the issue as best we can, but I have not found that yet.”

The bill also requires participation in the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and allows the state to share data with other states to prevent doctor shopping across state lines.

Florida is one of only four states currently that does not allow cross-state communication in this way.

The bill also includes $42.6 million to fight the opioid crisis. Of that amount, $15.7 million would go to purchases of drugs used to treat opioid addiction, such as methadone and naltrexone.

The bill still has two more committee hearings in the Senate and two in the House before it can get to a vote in either chamber. But it has wide backing in Tallahassee, including from Gov. Rick Scott, who called for a similar approach to opioid prescriptions during a visit to the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office in September.

dsweeney@SunSentinel .com, 954-356-4605 or Twitter @Daniel_Sweeney