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The risk of misuse and diversion of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder appears to be low in Medicare Part D
The risk of misuse and diversion of buprenorphine for opioid use disorder appears to be low in Medicare Part D
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Data in brief (United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General)
- Contributor(s):
- United States. Department of Health and Human Services. Office of Inspector General. Office of Evaluation and Inspections, issuing body.
- Publication:
- Washington, D.C. : U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Inspector General, May 2023
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine, Naloxone Drug Combination
Government Regulation
Medicare Part D
Opioid-Related Disorders -- drug therapy
United States - Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why OIG Did This Review. Opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States remain a concern, with an estimated 82,310 deaths in 2021. As the country continues to struggle with the opioid crisis, it is essential to ensure access to buprenorphine to treat individuals with opioid use disorder. Buprenorphine has been shown to decrease illicit opioid use and opioid-related overdose deaths. However, there are concerns about access to this potentially life-saving medication. Previous Office of Inspector General (OIG) work has shown a need to increase the number of Medicare enrollees receiving treatment for opioid use disorder. OIG has found that just 18 percent of Medicare enrollees with a diagnosis of opioid use disorder received medication to treat their opioid use disorder. Furthermore, Black, Hispanic, and Asian/Pacific Islander Medicare enrollees are less likely to receive medication to treat their opioid use disorder than are White enrollees. At the same time, buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder - hereafter referred to as buprenorphine - has the potential for misuse and is at risk for diversion. To address this risk, providers were required to obtain a waiver through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to prescribe or administer buprenorphine in office-based settings and were limited in the number of patients they could treat. This waiver is commonly referred to as the “DATA waiver” after the Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) of 2000 that established the waiver program. In December 2022, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2023, repealed the waiver requirement and the corresponding patient limits. This change comes alongside a wider effort by the Administration to expand access to treatment, in part, by eliminating barriers. This data brief provides information related to the risk of misuse and diversion of buprenorphine in Medicare Part D in 2021 - prior to the repeal of the DATA waiver. Prescribing of buprenorphine has been limited, in part, due to concerns related to misuse and diversion. Yet, up until now, there has been little information available on the extent to which buprenorphine may be misused or diverted in Medicare. This data brief describes the use of buprenorphine and looks at several measures to assess the risk of misuse and diversion of buprenorphine in Medicare.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (25 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918716087406676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918716087406676