SLS 19RS-72 ORIGINAL
2019 Regular Session
SENATE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 25
BY SENATOR PEACOCK
HEALTH DEPARTMENT. Requests the Louisiana Department of Health to study the use
of scrambler therapy as an opioid alternative for the treatment of pain.
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2 To urge and request the Louisiana Department of Health to study the use of scrambler
3 therapy as an opioid alternative for the treatment of pain.
4 WHEREAS, opioid related deaths in Louisiana were one hundred fifty times higher
5 in 2017 than they were in 2012; and
6 WHEREAS, deaths in Louisiana involving fentanyl have increased by more than five
7 hundred percent since 2014; and
8 WHEREAS, a significant contributor to opioid related deaths is prescription opioids
9 for the treatment of pain, with Louisiana prescribers writing nearly five million opioid
10 prescriptions per year; and
11 WHEREAS, many patients with chronic pain are keenly aware of the risks associated
12 with opioids and eager to try alternative treatments for relief; and
13 WHEREAS, although Louisiana has enacted several laws to limit and curtail opioid
14 prescriptions, health carriers and insurance plans often prefer and will only cover opioid
15 treatment for pain; and
16 WHEREAS, scrambler therapy has been a widely used alternative for pain treatment
17 in Europe and is being introduced in several markets in the United States; and
18 WHEREAS, scrambler therapy is a nonnarcotic, noninvasive, pain-free use of
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SLS 19RS-72 ORIGINAL
1 electrodes to target specific pain sites; and
2 WHEREAS, scrambler therapy is still considered experimental in the United States
3 pending investigations and clinical trials; and
4 WHEREAS, a 2018 survey of government and commercial health plans found that
5 insurance does not cover scrambler therapy for patients in Louisiana, resulting in access
6 being limited to those who can afford to pay cash for the service; and
7 WHEREAS, the Louisiana Department of Health is aggressively pursuing every
8 reasonable effort to combat the opioid epidemic; and
9 WHEREAS, scrambler therapy shall be studied to determine whether its use is an
10 appropriate alternative treatment for pain, and if so, the feasability of health insurance
11 coverage of this treatment by government and commercial health plans in Louisiana.
12 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
13 request the Louisiana Department of Health to study the use of scrambler therapy as an
14 opioid alternative for the treatment of pain.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Louisiana Department of Health shall
16 consult with the Louisiana Department of Insurance and the Louisiana Association of Health
17 Plans in studying this matter and shall provide a report of its findings, including the use of
18 scrambler therapy as an appropriate alternative treatment for pain and the feasability of
19 health insurance coverage of this treatment to the legislature no later than February 1, 2020.
20 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the
21 secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, the commissioner of the Louisiana
22 Department of Insurance, and the executive director of the Louisiana Association of Health
23 Plans.
The original instrument and the following digest, which constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument, were prepared by Christine Arbo Peck.
DIGEST
SCR 25 Original 2019 Regular Session Peacock
Requests the Louisiana Department of Health to study the use of scrambler therapy as an
opioid alternative for the treatment of pain in consultation with the Louisiana Department
of Insurance and the Louisiana Association of Health Plans.
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