Healthcare (Public Health)

HB 1413 prohibits Washington state agencies, counties, cities, and towns from purchasing opioid overdose reversal medications (commonly known as naloxone) from companies that have settled with states over claims of contributing to the opioid epidemic. The bill requires the Department of Health to maintain a public list of excluded entities and exempts companies already supplying these medications under pre-existing settlement agreements as of September 1, 2024. It directly affects government purchasers of naloxone by restricting their vendor options to distributors not linked to opioid settlement cases. The law aims to redirect procurement toward qualified distributors with no prior involvement in the opioid crisis.