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4/22/2025
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House passes McGaw bill to allow 60-day prescriptions for ADHD medications
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STATE HOUSE – The House of Representatives today approved legislation sponsored by Rep. Michelle McGaw to help relieve a burden on patients, parents and physicians by doubling the amount of non-opioid, non-narcotic Schedule II prescription drugs — including most commonly prescribed ADHD medications — that can be dispensed at one time.
The legislation (2025-H 5866A) would allow up to a 60-day supply of such drugs to be dispensed at a time.
Currently, Schedule II drugs are limited to a 30-day supply, and each new 30-day supply is a new prescription requiring a prescriber’s authorization. The result is that those who rely on such drugs for chronic conditions such as ADHD must contact their prescriber every 30 days, and the prescriber must then contact the pharmacy to provide authorization. If the pharmacy does not have the proper dosage of the drug in stock, the pharmacy must notify the patient, and then patient or prescriber must find a pharmacy that does and repeat the process.
Over the last two years as the nation has experienced a shortage of the prescription drugs to treat ADHD, the 30-day limit has meant a time-consuming monthly hassle for those who rely on them, sometimes resulting in hours of phone calls and long drives to locate a pharmacy that has the drug at the proper dosage in stock.
“It is very cumbersome for patients, for parents and for physicians to go through this process every 30 days. Yes, there is a need to keep some restrictions on these drugs to prevent abuse, but the 30-day limit is heavy-handed when you consider all the difficulties people, their doctors and their pharmacists face each time they try to get a refill,” said Representative McGaw (D-Dist. 71, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton), who works as a consultant pharmacist serving the long-term care community. “Besides helping patients, this bill will lighten the heavy burden these prescriptions place on busy providers, to the benefit of public health.”
Neighboring Massachusetts allows such prescriptions to be dispensed in up to a 90-day supply.
The legislation, which is supported by the Rhode Island Pharmacists Association, now goes to the Senate, where Sen. Alana M. DiMario (D-Dist. 36, Narragansett, North Kingstown, New Shoreham) is sponsoring companion legislation (2025-S 0795).
For more information, contact:
Meredyth R. Whitty, Publicist
State House Room 20
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 222-1923
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