Opioid use in Medicare Part D during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic
- Collection:
- Health Policy and Services Research
- Series Title(s):
- Data snapshot
- 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, February 2021
- Language(s):
- English
- Format:
- Text
- Subject(s):
- Analgesics, Opioid COVID-19 Government Regulation Medicare Part D United States United States. Department of Health and Human Services
- Genre(s):
- Technical Report
- Abstract:
- Why These Data Are Important. Opioid overdoses have resulted in more than 200,000 deaths nationwide since 2015. As the country continues to deal with the crisis, concerns about the use of opioids in Medicare Part D and the availability of treatment for opioid use disorder have heightened with the onset of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. The National Institute on Drug Abuse has warned that respiratory diseases, like COVID-19, are known to increase the risk of fatal overdose among people taking opioids. 1 In addition, a recent study found that people with opioid use disorder are more likely to contract COVID-19 and suffer complications.2 The Office of Inspector General (OIG) has been tracking opioid use in Part D since 2016.3 From 2016 to 2019, Medicare Part D saw a steady decline in opioid use, along with an increased use of drugs for treatment of opioid use disorder. With the onset of COVID-19 and the new dangers it poses for beneficiaries taking opioids, it is imperative that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) closely monitor opioid use during this unprecedented time. This data snapshot describes opioid use in Part D during the onset of COVID-19, focusing on the first 8 months of 2020. For context, this snapshot also provides data on the first 8 months of 2019.
- Copyright:
- The National Library of Medicine believes this item to be in the public domain. (More information)
- Extent:
- 1 online resource (1 PDF file (10 pages))
- Illustrations:
- Illustrations
- NLM Unique ID:
- 9918383970006676 (See catalog record)
- Permanent Link:
- http://resource.nlm.nih.gov/9918383970006676