Georgia Attorney General Chris Carr today said Monday he has joined a bipartisan coalition of 37 states and territories urging health insurance companies to use their power to discourage doctors from prescribing opioids.

“Georgians are witnessing firsthand the devastation that the opioid epidemic has wrought on our state and nation in terms of lives lost and the costs it has imposed on our healthcare system and the broader economy,” Carr said in a news release. “The Office of the Attorney General remains committed to using all tools at its disposal to combat this epidemic and to protect patients suffering from chronic pain as well as addiction. We look forward to this dialogue with the insurance industry, so that, working together, we can best determine solutions to combat this modern-day plague.”

In a letter Monday to Marilyn Tavenner, president and CEO of America's Health Insurance Plans in Washington, D.C., the attorneys general said: “The opioid epidemic is the preeminent public health crisis of our time.” The attorneys asked Tavenner to “encourage your members to review their payment and coverage policies and revise them, as necessary and appropriate, to encourage healthcare providers to prioritize non-opioid pain management options over opioid prescriptions for the treatment of chronic, non-cancer pain.”