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South Carolina

South Carolina

State Facts

1,034

Deaths, or 70.8% of total overdose deaths involved opioids in 2024.¹

1.2 Million

Claims, or 4.4% of all Medicare Part D claims were for opioids in 2022 – an average of 58 per prescriber.²

48.4

Opioid Prescriptions were written for every 100 persons in South Carolina in 2023.³

15,584

Beneficiaries on Medicare Part D had Opioid Use Disorder in 2022.⁴

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Opioid Settlement Funds

$664,006,163.51
State Spending Recommendation

National approved use: providing support for non-opioid pain treatment alternatives, including training providers to offer or refer to multi-modal, evidence-informed treatment of pain.

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.

2025 Introduced Relevant Legislation

SB 161/HB 4165

This legislation establishes a state Preferred Drug List that prohibits favoring opioid treatments over FDA-approved non-opioid alternatives for pain management. It also mandates the Department of Public Health to create an educational pamphlet on non-opioid options and provides guidelines for practitioners offering these treatments.

Introduced
01/15/2025
Plan Impact
Medicaid/State Employee
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 (2024). Medicare Part D Opioid Prescribing Mapping Tool. https://cms-oeda.maps.arcgis.com/apps/MapSeries/index.html?appid=5390718d875d4c049b1ac5976a9ff083

3. Center for Disease Control and Prevention (2024). Opioid Dispensing Rate Maps. https://www.cdc.gov/overdose-prevention/data-research/facts-stats/opioid-dispensing-rate-maps.html

4. Office of the Inspector General (2023). The Consistently Low Percentage of Medicare Enrollees Receiving Medication to Treat Their Opioid Use Disorder Remains a Concern. https://oig.hhs.gov/documents/evaluation/2722/OEI-02-23-00250-Complete%20Report.pdf