One of the most insidious thing about regulators is that they typically only count the first order effects of their regulations, not the second or third order effects, nor the opportunity costs.
"Although the CDC says it did not intend to ban high-dose opioid prescribing or force existing patients to quit, such results have been widely reported. Insurers, regulators, pharmacies, and state legislators have made the document—which was supposed to be flexible so that patients with complex needs wouldn’t be harmed—into a set of rigid rules without exceptions. And the guideline was also misapplied by these groups to include patients it was never intended to cover, such as people with cancer, those with post-surgical pain, and those taking medication to treat addiction.
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One of the many misapplications was legal pressure on doctors from medical boards and criminal prosecutors, who often targeted physicians for deviation from the CDC’s recommendations. Many such doctors reacted by forcing their patients to cut their doses or stop the medications altogether, affecting thousands of Americans. Even now, at least one state is considering requiring all Medicaid patients with certain pain diagnoses to discontinue opioids—regardless of whether they’re benefiting from them."
"Although the CDC says it did not intend to ban high-dose opioid prescribing or force existing patients to quit, such results have been widely reported. Insurers, regulators, pharmacies, and state legislators have made the document—which was supposed to be flexible so that patients with complex needs wouldn’t be harmed—into a set of rigid rules without exceptions. And the guideline was also misapplied by these groups to include patients it was never intended to cover, such as people with cancer, those with post-surgical pain, and those taking medication to treat addiction.
...
One of the many misapplications was legal pressure on doctors from medical boards and criminal prosecutors, who often targeted physicians for deviation from the CDC’s recommendations. Many such doctors reacted by forcing their patients to cut their doses or stop the medications altogether, affecting thousands of Americans. Even now, at least one state is considering requiring all Medicaid patients with certain pain diagnoses to discontinue opioids—regardless of whether they’re benefiting from them."