WV SB628

Prohibits the Public Employees Insurance Agency, Bureau for Medical Services (Medicaid), and private health insurers from disadvantaging or discouraging non-opioid drugs relative to opioid drugs for pain treatment in their formularies

Requires all FDA-approved non-opioid pain medications to be placed in the lowest formulary tier (typically reserved for generics with lowest copays) to make them cost-competitive with generic opioids

Mandates that health care practitioners inform patients about available non-opioid alternatives before prescribing Schedule II opioids, discuss advantages and disadvantages, and document the discussion in patient records

Requires the Department of Health to develop and publish an educational pamphlet on non-opioid pain treatment alternatives in accordance with CDC Clinical Practice Guidelines

Makes it unlawful for health insurers to deny coverage of a prescribed non-opioid medication in favor of an opioid prescription drug, while preserving existing utilization review processes