Center Calls for Repeal of Opioid Stewardship Act in Open Letter to Leadership

Letter Cites Unintended Consequences of Opioid Tax
Center’s Chairman Predicted Such in 2019 Opinion Piece

Providence, RI – As was predicted by the Center’s Chairman last year, the 2019 Opioid Stewardship Act, enacted legislation that placed a tax on the legal use of pain-killers, has resulted in unintended consequences that have disrupted supply chains and placed additional financial burdens on patients. 

Today, the RI Center for Freedom & Prosperity sent an open-letter to General Assembly leadership, calling on them to repeal the Act. 

Cited in the letter from his 2019 Providence Journal opinion piece, Dr. Stephen Skoly, a maxillo-facial surgeon, with long experience in prescribing legal pain relief medications, wrote – “when developing policy, Rhode Island legislators need to acknowledge the importance of protecting the affordability and accessibility of necessary medications for our state’s patients and their families.” 

The Center believes the time is now to correct last year’s mistake.