Press Release  AG Healey Criticizes New Federal Recommendations for Opioid Prescriptions

Boston — Attorney General Maura Healey has joined 38 attorneys general in sending a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) expressing concerns about new federal recommendations for the prescribing of opioids that depart from guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) in 2016.

In the letter, sent through the National Association for Attorneys General (NAAG), the attorneys general write that a draft report from the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force deviates from the CDC guidelines by suggesting providers rely on their own judgment, rather than using evidence-based recommendations, in determining dosage and duration for an opioid prescription. 

“The opioid epidemic continues to devastate communities here in Massachusetts,” said AG Healey. “As attorneys general from across the country, we urge the federal government to maintain the CDC’s evidence-based recommendations to assist providers in battling this epidemic.”

The letter criticizes the draft report for omitting statements warning about the risks of high opioid doses and failing to acknowledge that longer duration prescriptions increase the risk for misuse. The attorneys general also assert the draft report diminishes the urgency for providers and policymakers to pursue laws and practices that reduce the high volume of opioids. According to the letter, the draft report makes a “baseless claim that opioids only have addictive properties in certain at-risk populations.”

Congress created the Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force in 2016 to assess inconsistencies between pain management practices developed by federal agencies. The draft report is the result of the task force’s review and makes recommendations about best practices for pain management policies. 

Combating the opioid epidemic remains a top priority for AG Healey. The AG is working on all fronts with a team comprised of health care experts, law enforcement, advocates, and public policy experts dedicated to tackling heroin, fentanyl, and prescription drug misuse.

From making substance use prevention education available to every public middle school in Massachusetts through Project Here, to using a $3 million federal grant to expand work dismantling drug trafficking throughout Massachusetts and New Hampshire, and suing Purdue Pharma, its board members and its executives, the AG’s Office is committed to using a multi-disciplinary approach to addressing the opioid crisis that includes enforcement, policy, prevention and education efforts. In 2016, AG Healey sent a letter in support of the guidelines identifying specific impacts of the epidemic on Massachusetts. AG Healey also joined a letter with other state AGs urging the agency to adopt its recommendations.

Joining AG Healey in signing onto today’s letter are the attorneys general from Alaska, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Florida, Guam, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Washington and Wyoming.

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