Recent Studies from University of Pittsburgh Add New Data to Medicare and Medicaid (Medicaid Prior Authorization and Opioid Medication Abuse and…

Recent Studies from University of Pittsburgh Add New Data to Medicare and Medicaid (Medicaid Prior Authorization and Opioid Medication Abuse and Overdose)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Weekly News -- A new study on Medicare and Medicaid is now available. According to news reporting from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, by VerticalNews journalists, research stated, "The US opioid medication epidemic has resulted in serious health consequences for patients. Formulary management tools adopted by payers, specifically prior authorization (PA) policies, may lower the rates of opioid medication abuse and overdose."

The news correspondents obtained a quote from the research from the University of Pittsburgh, "We compared rates of opioid abuse and overdose among enrollees in plans that varied in their use of PA from 'High PA'(ie, required PA for 17 to 74 opioids), with 'Low PA'(ie, required PA for 1 opioid), and 'No PA'policies for opioid medications. Retrospective cohort study of patients initiating opioid treatment in Pennsylvania Medicaid from 2010 to 2012. Generalized linear models with generalized estimating equations were employed to assess the relationships between the presence of PA policies and opioid medication abuse and overdose, as measured in Medicaid claims data, adjusting for demographics, comorbid health conditions, benzodiazepine/muscle relaxant use, and emergency department use. The study cohort included 297,634 enrollees with a total of 382,828 opioid treatment episodes. Compared with plans with No PA, enrollees in High PA (adjusted rate ratio [ARR], 0.89; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.850.93; P<.001) and Low PA plans (ARR, 0.93; 95% CI, 0.87-1.00; P =.04) had lower rates of abuse. Enrollees in the Low PA plan had a lower rate of overdose than those within plans with No PA (ARR, 0.75; 95% CI, 0.59-0.95; P =.02). High PA plan enrollees were also less likely than No PA enrollees to experience an overdose, but this association was not statistically significant (ARR, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.76-1.02; P =.08)."

According to the news reporters, the research concluded: "Enrollees within Medicaid plans that utilize PA policies appear to have lower rates of abuse and overdose following initiation of opioid medication treatment."

For more information on this research see: Medicaid Prior Authorization and Opioid Medication Abuse and Overdose. American Journal of Managed Care, 2017;23(5):62-72. American Journal of Managed Care can be contacted at: Managed Care & Healthcare Communications Llc, 666 Plainsboro Rd, Ste 300, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA.

Our news journalists report that additional information may be obtained by contacting G. Cochran, University of Pittsburgh, Center Pharmaceut Policy & Prescribing, Pittsburgh, PA, United States. Additional authors for this research include A.J. Gordon, W.F. Gellad, C.C.H. Chang, W.H. Lo-Ciganic, C. Lobo, E. Cole, W. Frazier, P. Zheng, D. Kelley and J.M. Donohue.

Keywords for this news article include: Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States, North and Central America, Medicare and Medicaid, Health Policy, Medicaid, University of Pittsburgh.

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