H 1801 Massachusetts House · 193rd Legislature (2023-2024)

An Act to prevent unwanted opioid prescriptions

This bill amends Massachusetts law to impose a civil penalty of up to $100,000 on healthcare providers who knowingly ignore a patient's voluntary request to avoid receiving opioid prescriptions. The measure directly affects medical practitioners and the Attorney General, who is authorized to enforce these penalties. It requires doctors and other prescribers to honor a specific form where patients explicitly state they do not want opioid medication. The legislation aims to strengthen patient autonomy by creating financial consequences for failing to respect these non-opiate directives.
Bill status passed 3 of 4 stages cleared
Introduction
Feb 2023
Committee Review
Feb 2023
Senate Passage
Feb 2023
Governor
Introduced Feb 16, 2023 Last action Jun 5, 2024
Floor votes

How they voted

This bill passed the Senate. No roll call record of that vote is available.
Full legislative history

Actions timeline

Total actions
4
Key actions
1
Committee
1
Feb 16, 2023
Upper · Passed
Senate concurred
upper
Feb 16, 2023
Committee
Referred to the committee on The Judiciary
lower
0 primary · 2 co-sponsors

Sponsors

No sponsor information available.