TRENTON — State lawmakers on Wednesday approved and sent to Gov. Chris Christie a controversial bill that would require doctors to limit initial prescriptions for pain-killing opioids to five days to reduce the likelihood a patient will develop an addiction.
Christie asked the state Legislature to pass the measure during his Jan. 10 State of the State address, at which he outlined a plan for his final year in office to halt the epidemic of heroin and painkiller abuse.
In 2015, 1,600 people in New Jersey died from drug overdoses – a sign he says that opioid addiction is a “public health crisis.”
The governor is expected to sign the bill, (S3) late Wednesday afternoon.
How Christie wants to force doctors to limit opioid painkiller prescriptions
Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon (R-Monmouth) made an impassioned plea for his colleagues’ support, saying, “This is ravaging each one of our communities. We must fight it together.”
The bill passed by a 64-1 vote with five abstentions. It passed the Senate last week.
The legislation has been controversial because it requires doctors treating patients for conditions that cause acute pain – such as surgery and extensive dental work – to limit the length of the initial prescription to no more than five days.
The Medical Society of New Jersey, the state’s largest physician lobbying group, quickly objected to lawmakers meddling in doctor-patient matters. Even some lawmakers who voted for the bill in committee expressed worries it was going too far.
Other states which have enacted prescription limits, such as New York, Maine and Massachusetts on opioids limit pills like Percocet to a seven-day supply.
The New Jersey legislation says if the patient and physician agree by the fourth day the pain has not subsided, another five-day prescription may be written, with no requirement the patient ante-up for another co-payment.
“There shouldn’t be a day a patient who goes without medication if they need it. That decision is between the doctor and the patient,” said Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), one of the bill’s prime sponsors.
The measure would not apply to hospice or cancer patients or people in long-term care facilities, according to the bill. Nor would it apply to patients who are being treated for chronic pain, Vitale said.
“We just want to limit the volume of the pills out there,” Vitale said.
Susan K. Livio may be reached at slivio@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @SusanKLivio. Find NJ.com Politics on Facebook.
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