Helping the Fight to Prevent Opioid Addiction Through Legislation

By Sen. Wlnsvey Campos (OR)

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The opioid epidemic continues to devastate Oregon, with overdose deaths reaching 1,480 in 2024 alone – that’s 450 more than the previous year, with 80.7% of all deaths involving at least one opioid. Of that total, 113 deaths involved a prescription opioid. Across the country, approximately 80 million U.S. adults are prescribed acute pain medication annually, and about 40 million receive opioids to manage their pain.

While opioids can be effective, they also carry a risk of addiction. In fact, each year, approximately 85,000 patients develop opioid use disorder (OUD) within one year of starting an opioid treatment.

The rate of drug overdose deaths among Hispanic Americans continues to rise -- from 21.1 drug overdose deaths per 100,000 population in 2021 to 22.7 in 2022 -- while the rate of overdose deaths in the general population has been essentially flat during this period. A 1.6% increase may not sound like a lot, but it’s over 1,000 deaths a year. Not only do we have to treat those fighting addiction, we must work to prevent addiction in the first place.

In 2025, so-called pain parity legislation has been introduced in 30 states. In Oregon, I introduced Senate Bill 598 that ensures pain parity between non-opioids and opioids in both commercial insurance and in Medicaid. This legislation, signed into law by our Governor in July, will ensure an equal choice between non-opioid and opioids and would prevent prior authorizations or step therapy that often can delay or deny urgent pain treatment.

SB 598 is a crucial step toward modernizing pain treatment and policy. It ensures that insurance companies apply the same coverage rules for non-opioid pain management options as they do for opioids. This legislation will remove financial barriers, eliminate excessive red tape like prior authorization and step therapy, and empower health care providers to prescribe the most appropriate treatment for each patient — without defaulting to opioids.

By leveling the playing field, SB 598 will expand access to safer pain management options, reduce opioid dependence and help curb addiction before it starts.

The need for reform is urgent. Millions of Americans become persistent opioid users each year following surgery, not because they seek opioids, but because these were prescribed when safer, non-addictive treatments were unavailable or unaffordable. Our health care system should not be steering patients toward addiction simply because non-opioid alternatives are more expensive or harder to access.

Research shows that expanding access to non-opioid treatments can reduce opioid misuse, addiction, and overdose deaths — saving lives and lowering health care costs. SB 598 is a commonsense policy that would give patients real choices for pain management while helping to curb the overprescription of opioids in Oregon.

The opioid crisis is not just a public health emergency — it is a preventable tragedy. We must prioritize upstream prevention by ensuring that safe, effective and non-addictive pain management options are as accessible and affordable as opioids. Passing SB 598 is a crucial step in the right direction.

With this law, I am optimistic that we can take action now to protect patients, reduce opioid dependence, and create a healthier future for Oregonians. I urge my colleagues at NHCSL to refer to our Res. 2024-08 Removing Barriers to Access to Alternative Therapies for the Treatment of Pain and support critical legislation like this in their states.