Utah

Utah

State Facts

441

Deaths, or 64.8% of all overdose deaths in the year ending April 2025 involved opioids.¹

Over 500,000

Claims, or 5.4% of all Medicare Part D claims were for opioids in 2023 – an average of 45 per prescriber

43.8

Opioid Prescriptions were written for every 100 persons in Utah in 2023.³

$45.9 Billion

the estimated total societal cost of opioid use disorder (OUD) to the state in 2024.⁴

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Opioid Settlement Funds

$520,802,482.45
State Spending Recommendation

Training for practitioners on non-opioid pain treatments.

Member & Endorser Footprint

Voices is backed by a broad coalition of organizations across the state united by a shared goal: ensuring patients have access to safe, effective, 
and individualized pain management throughout the continuum of care.

Introduced Relevant Legislation

SB 331, Pain Medication Amendments

SB 331 ensures equal treatment of nonopioid drugs in Medicaid and health plans by prohibiting stricter coverage rules for nonopioids than for opioids. It also mandates an opioid education pamphlet on addiction risks, safe storage, alternative pain management, and available resources.

Introduced
02/26/2025
Plan Impact
Medicaid & Commercial
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SCR 005

SCR 005 is a concurrent resolution directing the Public Employees’ Benefit and Insurance Program (PEHP) to ensure fair and full access to non-opioid pain medications for Utah’s public employees, retirees, and their families, prohibiting more restrictive utilization controls on non-opioid therapies than on opioids for public employees.

Introduced
01/20/2026
Plan Impact
Public Employees’ Benefit and Insurance Program
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Voices Letters

SB 331 Letter of Support

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Comments to State Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board

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SCR 005 Letter of Support

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1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Provisional Drug Overdose Death Counts. https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm

2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Medicare Part D Opioid Prescribing Mapping Tool. https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/f1051d23738c4980a08002bf301f7d8a

3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2025). Opioid Dispensing Rate Maps. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/data-research/facts-stats/opioid-dispensing-rate-maps.html

4. Avalere Health (2025). The cost of addiction: Opioid use disorder in the United States. https://advisory.avalerehealth.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/Avalere-Health-White-Paper_The-cost-of-opioid-addiction_OUD-in-the-United-States.pdf