BCBSRI is informing the provider community about a recent CMS guideline change regarding opioid use for opioid naïve patients. As of January 1, 2019, for Medicare Advantage members, there is a hard safety edit limiting opioid prescription fills for the treatment of acute pain limiting to a seven-days’ supply allowance at point-of-sale in the pharmacy for patients who have not had an opioid prescription filled in the previous 90-days; prescriptions written for greater durations will reject. Pharmacies have the option to dispense a seven-day supply or less to ensure members have access to medication. The purpose of this change is for patients to receive the lowest effective dose of opioids for the shortest possible duration. This regulation is more lenient than current state regulations (not to exceed 30 milligrams of morphine equivalence per day, 20 doses, and a maximum of five days), therefore we expect minimal patient impact.