HLS 19RS-3435 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
HOUSE RESOLUTION NO. 257
BY REPRESENTATIVE HOFFMANN
HEALTH/BEHAVIORAL: Requests the La. Department of Health to study the benefits and
costs of eliminating prior authorization requirements for medication-assisted
treatment for opioid use disorder
1 A RESOLUTION
2To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to make changes necessary to
3 eliminate prior authorization requirements while controlling costs in the Medicaid
4 program for buprenorphine/naloxone and naltrexone for opioid use disorder
5 treatment.
6 WHEREAS, medication treatments for opioid use disorder are effective and are the
7current standard of care; and
8 WHEREAS, unnecessary prior authorizations create a barrier for patient access to
9medication treatments and increase administrative complexity for providers; and
10 WHEREAS, the amount that the state pays for medication treatments should reflect
11the value that medication treatments bring through improved clinical outcomes among
12Medicaid members.
13 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the House of Representatives of the
14Legislature of Louisiana does hereby urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health
15to make changes necessary to eliminate prior authorization requirements in the Medicaid
16program for all formulations of buprenorphine/naloxone and naltrexone.
17 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department should pursue value-based
18payment arrangements, as have been successful in other state Medicaid programs, to increase
19access to buprenorphine/naloxone and naltrexone products in a cost-effective manner that
20ensures that Medicaid members benefit from state expenditures for these drugs.
Page 1 of 2 HLS 19RS-3435 ORIGINAL
HR NO. 257
1 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the department should ensure that quantity limits
2placed on medications to treat opioid use disorder are aligned with the American Society of
3Addiction Medicine (ASAM) National Practice Guideline for the Use of Medications in the
4Treatment of Addiction Involving Opioid Use.
5 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
6secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HR 257 Original 2019 Regular Session Hoffmann
Requests the La. Department of Health to study the benefits and costs of eliminating prior
authorization requirements for medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder.
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