Alabama | NonOpioidChoices

State Facts

676

Deaths, or 65.4% of all overdose deaths in the year ending April 2025 involved opioids.¹

1.7 Million

Claims, or 5.4% of all Medicare Part D claims were for opioids in 2023 – an average of 93 per prescriber.²

Opioid Prescriptions were written for every 100 persons in Alabama in 2023 – the second highest rate in the nation.³

$56.9 Billion

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

Download FactSheet

Opioid Settlement Funds

$751,191,899.66

State Spending Recommendation

Ensure tomorrow’s prescribers and dispensers are educated in opioid prescribing today by encouraging all Alabama medical schools and residency programs, osteopathy, podiatry, optometry, dentistry, and veterinary science, as well as their postgraduate training programs to include opioid education as a standard part of their curriculum.

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.

Co-Sponsors (119th)

Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL)

Rep. Robert Aderholt (R-AL-4)

Rep. Terri Sewell (D-AL-07)

2025 Introduced Relevant Legislation

SB 161

This legislation establishes coverage parity between opioid and nonopioid pain medications in Alabama Medicaid.

Introduced

02/11/2025

Plan Impact

Medicaid

Learn More

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