Oregon could have some of the country’s strictest limits on opioids for chronic pain patients under a proposal being considered for the state’s Medicaid program. The proposed change would limit Oregon Health Plan coverage for five broad chronic pain conditions to 90 days of opioid pain relievers and would force patients who have been taking opioids for longer to be tapered off those medications within a year.

State officials say the move is being considered to reduce the overprescribing of opioids, which has led to an epidemic of overdoses, and to provide alternative treatments previously unavailable to Oregon Health Plan members.

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