APS E-News | Advocacy Update Report | August 2018
HHS Issues Report on Opioid Use in Medicare
Key findings in the HHS report include the following:
- Nearly one in three Part D beneficiaries received a prescription opioid in 2017.
- Overall Part D spending for opioids decreased, in part due to lower prices.
- Some 460,000 beneficiaries received high amounts of opioids in 2017, but fewer than in 2016.
- About 71,000 beneficiaries are at risk of opioid misuse or overdose in 2017, also fewer than in 2016.
- Almost 300 prescribers had questionable opioid prescribing for the 71,000 beneficiaries at serious risk.
- The high level of opioid use continues to call for the public and private sectors to work together to resolve this crisis.
