Ken YagerTennCare has had a 48 percent increase in narcotics prescriptions over the last four years despite efforts to end abuse.
Those efforts include a program called lock-ins, which forces a patient to fill prescriptions at a specific pharmacy.
The state’s Medicaid program also caps the number of pills that can be dispensed at each doctor’s visit. And it requires patients to use 85 percent of a prescription before they can get a refill.
State Sen. Ken Yager, R-Harriman, sponsored legislation last year requiring pain clinics to register with the state, have a doctor present at least 20 percent of the time and not accept cash payments.