Brown Led Senate Colleagues in Letter to Health Insurer’s Asking Industry to Review, Revise Policies in Light of Epidemic
"We need to change the status quo, and that starts with insurers taking a hard look at their coverage policies," said Brown. "We need them to be a partner in this fight - it should be as easy for an Ohioan to get access to treatment as it is for them to get an opioid in the first place."
* This month, Brown and
* A copy of Brown's letter can be found here http://brown.senate.gov/download/insurance-opioid-letter.
Brown was joined on the call by Ohio Society of Addiction Medicine President and
"Many insurance companies have been taking steps to improve access to non-narcotic pain management strategies, but there is still room for significant improvement," said
The letter asks the insurance companies to review old policies that could unintentionally be contributing to the drug addiction crisis and asks the companies what policies they have in place to make sure patients can access less addictive or non-addictive pain treatments.
For example, policies like prior authorization - where a patient's doctor must get prior approval from an insurer before prescribing a more expensive or non-formulary medication - have been in place long before today's opioid epidemic and are well intentioned to keep costs down. But when thousands are dying each day, insurance algorithms that default to the cheapest opioid alternative could miss opportunities to turn the tide against addiction.
The Senators pressed the companies to disclose whether they use internal controls to fight addiction, and how they identify a patient who might be struggling with addiction. The letter also asks for industry input on other factors
The Senators wrote to
Read this original document at: https://www.brown.senate.gov/newsroom/press/release/brown-joins-ohio-physician-to-urge-health-insurers-to-step-up-efforts-in-opioid-fight
Bill expands access to affordable, short-term, limited-duration health plans.
“Patients should not be forced to act as their own doctors and second guess themselves when they truly believe that they are having a medical emergency.”
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