PAIN RELIEF FOCUS OF BILL; DRUG AUTHORIZATION WOULD BE HASTENED.

Byline: Mary Schubert Daily News Staff Writer

People suffering from unrelenting pain would get relief under a bill recently introduced in the state Legislature that is meant to make certain medications more easily and swiftly available to doctors and patients.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, would require health insurance plans to make decisions within 72 hours that would authorize the use of pain management medications for patients who suffer from ``intractable'' pain.

AB 1226 expands on earlier legislation, also introduced by Runner, that pertained to terminally ill patients who needed drugs to alleviate the often unbearable pain common to the final stages of a disease.

``What happens oftentimes in a managed care system is there is a significant amount of rationing of medications,'' said Scott Syphax, a spokesman and lobbyist for the California Medical Association.

``People who suffer from chronic, intractable pain tend to be very heavy consumers of medication. Their needs for pain medication are far beyond the norm,'' Syphax added, noting that many such sufferers can lead fairly normal lives as long as they have access to medication.

Sometimes, health insurance plans don't allow doctors to prescribe certain drugs or don't cover the costs of patients' prescriptions for those medications.

``AB 1226 is intended to make it easier for the average family-care doctor in every community to relieve the pain and suffering of their patients . . . (to) eliminate the unfortunate position of hopelessness and depression these individuals often find themselves in, with some even feeling suicide is their only option,'' a bill synopsis reads.

The debate over euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide has been a long-simmering controversy, periodically punctuated when retired Michigan pathologist Dr. Jack Kevorkian helps terminally ill persons take their own lives.

A state legislator introduced a bill Monday that would allow terminally ill Californians to take a prescription pill to end their lives. The measure was by Assemblywoman Dion Aroner, a Democrat from Berkeley.

California voters in 1992 rejected a ballot proposition that would have allowed physicians directly to help terminally ill patients die.

That climate was an underlying factor in last year's bill and in the latest pain management legislation, said Runner, who also represents the Santa Clarita Valley.

``One of the arguments of physician-assisted suicide advocates is removing people from their pain,'' he said. ``There are many people who may be living with pain who aren't terminal. There's medication available for people who are in pain.''

Among the groups that support Runner's legislation, which was introduced last week, are the California Nurses Association, Americans for Death with Dignity, the Congress of California Seniors and the California Association of Catholic Hospitals.

Those opposed to the prospective law include the state Department of Health Services, Kaiser Permanente and Blue Cross.

Syphax said that those beset by chronic pain include people who have debilitating ailments or conditions, those who have been in severe accidents and those who have permanent disabilities.

``To enjoy any quality of life, let alone hold a job, this person will have to consume increasing amounts of pain medication,'' Syphax said.

The CMA supports the bill, he said, because its aim is ``to make sure that (insurance company) bureaucracy doesn't get in the way of good medical care.''

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PHOTO George Runner

Introduces bill for pain relief