CGS § 38a-492i. Mandatory coverage for pain management.

(a) Each individual health insurance policy providing coverage of the type specified in subdivisions (1), (2), (4), (10), (11) and (12) of section 38a-469 delivered, issued for delivery, renewed, amended or continued in this state shall provide access to a pain management specialist and coverage for pain treatment ordered by such specialist that may include all means medically necessary to make a diagnosis and develop a treatment plan including the use of necessary medications and procedures.

(b) (1) No such policy that provides coverage for prescription drugs shall require an insured to use, prior to using a brand name prescription drug prescribed by a licensed physician for pain treatment, any alternative brand name prescription drugs or over-the-counter drugs.

(2) Such policy may require an insured to use, prior to using a brand name prescription drug prescribed by a licensed physician for pain treatment, a therapeutically equivalent generic drug.

(c) As used in this section, “pain” means a sensation in which a person experiences severe discomfort, distress or suffering due to provocation of sensory nerves, and “pain management specialist” means a physician who is credentialed by the American Academy of Pain Management or who is a board-certified anesthesiologist, physiatrist, neurologist, oncologist or radiation oncologist with additional training in pain management.