Arbitrarily Reducing Opioids

Payers, legislators, and healthcare systems are implementing limits on how many pills may be dispensed to people with pain in an effort to curb the opioid crisis.

CVS announced this past September they would limit the number of pills new patients with acute pain can obtain to a seven-day supply.

Last July, Maine passed legislation limiting new prescriptions for opioids to 100 morphine milligram equivalents per day for most patients.

The giant prescription benefits manager, Express Scripts, began a program last September limiting people with new opioid prescriptions to a seven-day supply, not to exceed 200 mg per day.