The New York Department of Financial Services has released industry guidance for life and health insurers in the state, notifying them of their obligations to provide insurance to nurses and first responders carrying naloxone or Narcan to cut overdose deaths.
The issued guidance reminds insurers that New York's insurance law mandates them not to unfairly discriminate against insurance applicants through denial of coverage without appropriate actuarial or legal justification. The issuance comes after reports that some insurers may be rejecting applications for life insurance, disability income insurance or long-term care insurance if an applicant has been issued a prescription for an opioid-reversal drug.
Following an investigation, the regulator concluded that the underwriting guidelines and practices of New York life and health insurers in relation to opioid-reversal drugs did not differentiate between situations where an applicant had a prescription for naloxone or Narcan for their own use and circumstances where an applicant had the prescription to be able to administer on encounters with at-risk opioid overdose patients.
