Association of Formulary Exclusions and Restrictions for Opioid Alternatives With Opioid Prescribing Among Medicare Beneficiaries.

ABSTRACT: Importance:Although there are many pharmacologic alternatives to opioids, it is unclear whether the structure of Medicare Part D formularies discourages use of the alternatives. Objectives:To quantify the coverage of opioid alternatives and prevalence of prior authorization, step therapy, quantity limits, and tier placement for these drugs, and test whether these formulary exclusions and restrictions are associated with increased opioid prescribing to older adults at the county level. Design, Setting, and Participants:County fixed-effect models were estimated using a panel of counties across the 50 US states and the District of Columbia over calendar years 2015 and 2016. Data analysis was conducted from July 1 to September 23, 2019. The sample included 2721 counties in 2015 and 2671 counti

SUBMITTER: Rao T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7052746 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature