Parity for Non-Opioid Pain Management Drugs

Added new sponsors to the House sponsorship list, expanding the coalition of legislators supporting the bill.

Updated the effective date for large employer health plans to January 1, 2028, while maintaining January 1, 2027 for individual and small group plans.

Added a specific exemption for state employee group benefit plans, removing them from the new non-opioid drug coverage mandates.

Added a provision stating the state will not assume financial obligations for coverage if federal law (specifically 42 U.S.C. Sec. 18031) already requires the state to pay for it.

Restructured the language to clearly define the requirement as ensuring at least one non-opioid drug is available as a clinically appropriate alternative for opioid treatment.

Added a new Section 2 appropriating $15,415 to the Division of Insurance for the 2026-27 fiscal year to cover personal services needed to implement the act.

Changed the bill status header from 'REENGROSSED' to 'REVISED' and updated the legislative history note to reflect amendments adopted on second reading in the Second House.

Reordered and updated the list of Senate and House committees associated with the bill.

Adjusted the bill title to explicitly include 'AND, IN CONNECTION THEREWITH, MAKING AN APPROPRIATION' to reflect the new funding section.

Added five new sponsors (Bright, Catlin, Coleman, Cutter, Frizell, Pelton B., Wallace) to the Senate sponsorship list.

Updated the header title from 'ENGROSSED' to 'REENGROSSED' and adjusted the accompanying text to clarify that this version includes all amendments adopted in the House of Introduction.

Revised the informational note about the bill summary to specify that a summary for the reengrossed version will be available on April 20, 2026.

Added an exemption for state employee group benefit plans, allowing them to be included in the bill's requirements if they comply with the law.

Restructured the text to explicitly list three distinct requirements: utilization review rules, availability of clinically appropriate non-opioid alternatives, and cost-sharing parity between opioid and non-opioid drugs.

Adjusted the bill number and page references to reflect the engrossed version and updated the committee assignments.