CHAPTER 3
HB 66 - FINAL VERSION
22Feb2023... 0435h
2023 SESSION
23-0196
10/08
HOUSE BILL 66
SPONSORS: Rep. Merchant, Sull. 6; Rep. Nagel, Belk. 6
COMMITTEE: Health, Human Services and Elderly Affairs
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AMENDED ANALYSIS
This bill establishes a committee to study non-pharmacological treatment options to treat patients with chronic pain and the creation of a pilot program that supports and encourages non-pharmacological treatment options.
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Explanation: Matter added to current law appears in bold italics.
Matter removed from current law appears [in brackets and struckthrough.]
Matter which is either (a) all new or (b) repealed and reenacted appears in regular type.
22Feb2023... 0435h 23-0196
10/08
STATE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
In the Year of Our Lord Two Thousand Twenty Three
Be it Enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court convened:
3:1 Legislative Findings. It is believed that the most effective treatment of acute, chronic, or end of life pain is a patient-centered, comprehensive, multi-modal approach in which all modalities, allopathic and non-allopathic, have a potential role, including opioids when necessary. The general court recognizes that no single modality is universally effective in managing pain, that all help some but not all. One of the causes of the opioid crisis was the unsubstantiated and misguided belief that opioids, by themselves, have the ability to resolve pain. Another cause was the failure of the health care system to provide access to a broad variety of allopathic and non-allopathic therapies in an integrative, multi-modal manner. The general court intends that the committee established by this act is charged with exploring and creating public policies which will increase access to a variety of therapies in a cost-effective, clinically effective, comprehensive manner as an alternative to or adjunct to other allopathic therapies including opioid therapy.
3:2 Committee Established; Non-pharmacological Treatment Options for Chronic Pain.
I. There is established a committee to study non-pharmacological treatment options to treat patients with chronic pain and the creation of a pilot program that supports and encourages non-pharmacological treatment options.
II The members of the committee shall consist of:
(a) Five members of the house of representatives, 2 of whom shall be from the house health, human services, and elderly affairs committee, one from the house commerce committee, and 2 at large, all appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives.
(b) One member of the senate, appointed by the president of the senate.
III. Members of the committee shall receive mileage at the legislative rate when attending to the duties of the committee. The committee’s study shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
(a) Design of a pilot program with goals that are patient centric, provider friendly, that uses existing provider networks, establishes standard reimbursement rates, and maximizes patient self-referrals with no or minimal cost increases.
(b) Research creation of such a pilot program with the New Hampshire Medicaid program, the New Hampshire state employee self-funded health insurance program, or with other entities supported with state funds.
(c) Investigate overall cost of such a program, including eligibility status for National Institutes of Health-National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health supported grants or funding opportunities.
(d) Research ways to enhance awareness of non-pharmacological treatment options through educational programs for primary care providers to enhance collaboration and integration of care between all providers who collectively assist in treating chronic pain.
(e) Design a process to collect useable, meaningful data over 3 to 5 years to evaluate meeting the goals of the program design, specifically whether the pilot program helps patients to reduce pain while safely improving functional outcomes and quality of care for patients with chronic pain, increase use of non-pharmacological treatments options, while maintaining affordability by constraining cost or with minimal increases in overall costs to treat chronic pain.
IV. The committee may solicit input from any person or entity the committee deems relevant to its study.
V. The members of the committee shall elect a chairperson from among the members. The first meeting of the committee shall be called by the first-named house member. The first meeting of the committee shall be held within 45 days of the effective date of this section. Four members of the committee shall constitute a quorum.
VI. The committee shall submit a report including its findings and any recommendations for proposed legislation on or before December 1, 2023 to the speaker of the house of representatives, the president of the senate, the house clerk, the senate clerk, and the governor.
3:3 Effective Date. This act shall take effect upon its passage.
Approved: April 26, 2023
Effective Date: April 26, 2023