The Labor Department clarified a policy change that would impact the amount of opioid prescriptions federal workers can receive after an injury.

The policy will begin this fall and will restrict opioid-based painkiller prescriptions to newly-prescribed patients. They will be limited to an initial seven-day supply, with a maximum of four seven-day supply prescriptions without prior authorization (28 days total). No more than one opioid may be prescribed at a time during this period without approval from the Division of Federal Employees’ Compensation. Subsequent prescriptions must come with a letter of medical need which would authorize two additional 30-day supply of the painkiller. This will apply to workers who have acute pain issues, not chronic conditions.

The change will impact federal employees with workers’ compensation benefits, and not the larger Federal Employees Health Benefits Program.

This past spring the Office of Workers’ Compensation Programs (OWCP) reported that 40,870 federal workers were receiving opioids through 2017 and 2018, and 18,128 were receiving drugs for pain that was not cancer related. There were 4,166 workers who were receiving prescriptions with daily dosages exceeding the equivalent of 90 milligrams of morphine.

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