Data on Opioids Reported by Bennett Andrassy and Colleagues (Unrestricted insurance coverage of buprenorphine formulations remains sparse in comparison to conventional opioids): Opioids

2025 FEB 27 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- New research on Opioids is the subject of a report. According to news reporting originating in New Albany, Ohio, by NewsRx journalists, research stated, “Buprenorphine is an atypical opioid with analgesic efficacy and a more favorable safety profile than conventional opioids or tramadol. In 2019, access to on-label buprenorphine formulations was limited in comparison to conventional opioids, despite evidence supporting buprenorphine’s first-line analgesic use.”

The news reporters obtained a quote from the research, “Considering recent policy changes increasing buprenorphine accessibility, we determined differences in unrestricted insurance coverage between buprenorphine, conventional opioids, and other atypical opioids. We used data from Managed Market Insights and Technology’s Coverage Search and Kaiser Family Foundation to generate estimates on percentages of US-covered lives with unrestricted access to oxycodone, morphine, tramadol, tapentadol, generic and on-label transdermal buprenorphine, on-label buccal buprenorphine, and on-label sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone in 2024. 79.7% of commercial and 99.1% of Medicare lives had unrestricted oxycodone access. Morphine access was unrestricted for 45.7% of commercial and 62.8% of Medicare lives. Unrestricted access to tramadol was available for 88.2% of commercial and 96.3% of Medicare lives. 37.3% of commercial and 10.1% of Medicare lives had unrestricted tapentadol access. Unrestricted access to on-label transdermal buprenorphine was available for 21.0% of commercial and 2.59% of Medicare lives. Generic transdermal buprenorphine was available for 52.1% of commercial and 30.0% of Medicare lives. Buccal buprenorphine was available without restriction for 52.7% of commercial and 19.8% of Medicare lives. Sublingual buprenorphine/naloxone had unrestricted coverage for 34.6% of commercial and 32.7% of Medicare lives. Access to buprenorphine formulations was limited in comparison to other opioids.”

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: “This study emphasizes a need for commercial and Medicare health insurance plans to broaden buprenorphine coverage.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Unrestricted insurance coverage of buprenorphine formulations remains sparse in comparison to conventional opioids. Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine, 2025. Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine can be contacted at: Bmj Publishing Group, British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England.

Our news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained by contacting Bennett Andrassy, Pain Labs, New Albany, Ohio, United States. Additional authors for this research include Junaid Mukhdomi, Nidhi Bhaskar, Marcus Harris and Taif Mukhdomi.

The direct object identifier (DOI) for that additional information is: https://doi.org/10.1136/rapm-2024-106306. This DOI is a link to an online electronic document that is either free or for purchase, and can be your direct source for a journal article and its citation.

The publisher of the journal Regional Anesthesia & Pain Medicine can be contacted at: Bmj Publishing Group, British Med Assoc House, Tavistock Square, London WC1H 9JR, England.

(Our reports deliver fact-based news of research and discoveries from around the world.)