Before Cynthia Bly used up the last of her prescription of pain pills in January, she was able to do the dishes, cook meals and take short walks with her husband outside their rural Springfield home.

Now that the 64-year-old former office worker no longer has access to hydrocodone, an opioid pain reliever, the pain from her chronic back problems and other medical conditions is too overwhelming for her to enjoy those simple activities. She spends most of her days in a recliner or wheelchair and uses a portable commode to avoid the pain and risk of falling on the way to the bathroom.