March 25, 2019
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State House Highlights of the Week: Prior Authorization is Among Issues Before HCIFS Committee, HHS Takes Testimony on Extended Opioid Prescriptions
Last Thursday, the Health Coverage, Insurance & Financial Services Committee held a public hearing on three bills opposed by MMA: LD 1082, a bill that would require a physician to recommend an alternative treatment for pain before prescribing an opioid pain medication; LD 1072, a bill that would require all physicians to have 2 hours of CME credit in Alzheimer's disease and dementia; and LD 943, a bill that would specifically authorize the use of a laser in spine surgery. The MMA's testimony is posted on the MMA web site, www.mainemed.com.
In the Health & Human Services Committee, hearings were held on LD 493 (shared decision-making for lung cancer screening); LD 500 (extended time periods for opioid prescriptions in some cases); and LD 511 (Alzheimer's disease & dementia coordination in DHHS), among a few other bills. The hearings were relatively uneventful and non-controversial. The committee did have some questions about how shared decision-making is coded for reimbursement purposes.
After the long hours and strong feelings expressed in the public hearings on the immunization bills, one could certainly consider this a relatively quiet week!
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