Alabama has been through a lot in recent years.
We are still recovering from the covid pandemic and families in our state have faced excessive costs from groceries to prescription drugs. We have managed to bounce back from these challenges because that is what we do here: when we get knocked down, we get back up; we rebuild.
While we have shown resilience in overcoming these challenges, there is one that we have struggled to overcome despite our best efforts: the ongoing opioid crisis.
As a State Representative, I have witnessed how this crisis does not just affect big cities or far-off places, its hitting urban centers, small towns, rural communities, and families right here in Alabama. From 2015 through 2021 there were 6,307 overdose deaths in Alabama.
That is thousands of families devastated, thousands of people missing loved ones at the dinner table and at holiday gatherings.
My commitment to fighting this crisis is deeply personal. As a longtime member of Friends of the Drug Court, I have witnessed firsthand how intensive treatment—rather than incarceration—can transform lives.
Drug Court has shown me that with proper support and access to effective treatment options, those struggling with addiction can become contributing members of society again. I have seen individuals rebuild their lives when given proper alternatives and support.
This experience is responsible for my support of SB161. Under existing law, Alabama’s Medicaid Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee reviews and approves medications to include on our preferred drug list.
SB161 would require that non-opioid pain treatments that have FDA approval be included on this preferred drug list with coverage terms that are no more restrictive than those given to opioid pain medications.
In plain terms, this means Medicaid patients would not face higher costs or more hurdles when choosing safer pain management alternatives. I have heard from doctors and other medical professionals who have explained how patients often choose opioids simply because they are more affordable under current coverage—not because they are medically superior.
My faith in our healthcare system runs deep.
In 2015, I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I fought and won that battle with help from an experienced team of physicians and received prayers and support from friends and family. Today, I am cancer free. This journey taught me the importance of having access to all available medical options, not just the most affordable ones.
Just as I needed access to every treatment option during my cancer battle, Alabamians dealing with pain deserve access to every FDA-approved pain management alternative without financial barriers. No family should lose a loved one to addiction simply because safer alternatives were not covered by insurance.
SB161 is not complicated legislation—it is a straightforward fix to ensure Alabama’s medication coverage policies are not inadvertently pushing patients toward addictive substances. Having seen both sides of our healthcare system—as a patient and a policymaker, I understand how critical this change would be.
The cost to our state—both human and financial—is something I see reflected in our community.
Opioid addiction strains our local healthcare providers, increases demands on our first responders, and leaves gaps in families that can never be filled.
When I think of the families, I have met in our districts who have lost children, children who have lost parents, I know we cannot wait any longer for meaningful action.
Alabama has always faced challenges with determination and strength.
By passing SB161, we can help ensure fewer families in our state will receive that devastating phone call about a loved one who lost to an overdose. I am committed to fighting for this bill because I have seen firsthand how desperately our communities need it.
Debbie Wood serves as State Representative representing Chambers and Lee Counties.
