Florida moves to limit coverage for OxyContin

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Hoping to curb abuse of the painkiller OxyContin, the state will no longer pay for prescriptions of more than 120 pills a month without prior approval from Medicaid.

With the move, Florida joins four other states – Maine, West Virginia, Ohio and South Carolina – that have put restrictions on the drug’s distribution to Medicaid recipients.

Medicaid also will not pay for different dosages of the drug in a 30-day period without prior approval.

The drug is intended for use by terminal cancer patients and chronic pain sufferers but has been linked to scores of deaths around the country among people using the drug to get high.

About 10 percent of all OxyContin prescriptions covered by Medicaid would require approval, said George Kitchens, chief of Medicaid’s pharmacy services.

Jim Heins, a spokesman for Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma L.P., OxyContin’s maker, said requiring prior approval to change the drug’s strength within a 30-day period could disrupt patient care.

Florida’s Medicaid spending on OxyContin rose from $4.4 million in 1998 to nearly $21 million last year, while the number of pills dispensed rose from 1.5 million to 6.1 million, according to Medicaid reports.

Overdoses of OxyContin and other morphinelike drugs killed 152 people statewide during the final six months of last year, more than any other drug, according to state medical examiners.