Wisconsin | NonOpioidChoices

State Facts

654

Deaths, or 67% of all overdose deaths in the year ending April 2025 involved opioids.¹

1 in 8

Wisconsinites were prescribed and used an opioid in 2023. 48% received the prescription following surgery.²

47% of Patients

aged 65+ were prescribed an opioid when treated for pain in 2023.²

$73 Billion

the estimated total societal cost of opioid use disorder (OUD) to the state in 2024.³

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Opioid Settlement Funds

$746,573,602.51

State Spending Recommendation

In the Opioid Settlement Funds Proposal for State Fiscal Year 2025, DHS proposes twelve strategies for the state share of settlement funding. Strategies include funding for tribal nations, prevention efforts, family resource centers, peer supports for opioid treatment programs, and harm reduction supplies, among others.

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)

Rep. Mark Pocan (D-WI-2)

Rep. Gwen Moore (D-WI-4)

Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI-03)

2025 Introduced Relevant Legislation

Senate Bill 492 / Assembly Bill 499

SB 492 / AB 499 requires health insurance plans and self-insured government plans to establish a pain management access plan that ensures coverage of at least two FDA-approved non-opioid prescription medications and at least three non-pharmacological pain management treatments.

The bill also prohibits more restrictive utilization controls for non-opioids than for opioids, mandates that the Department of Health Services not disadvantage non-opioid drugs on the preferred drug list, and requires plans to provide enrollees and providers with information about available pain management alternatives.

Introduced

10/02/2025

Learn More

Voices Letters

Support for SB 492

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. Wisconsin Department of Health Services. (2025), Opioids: Adult Opioid Use Dashboard. https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/opioids/adult-use.htm

3. 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