News Report | August 18, 2019
Opioid Prescriptions Down, Prescriptions For Addiction Treatment Medication Up In Medicare Part D
In 2018, 13.4 million of the 46.8 million Medicare Part D beneficiaries (29%) received at least one prescription opioid, down 14.1 million in 2017 to 13.4 million in 2018. At the same time, about 174,000 Medicare Part D beneficiaries received a total of 1.6 million prescriptions for drugs for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) through Part D. This is an increase of 22%, rising from about 142,000 beneficiaries in 2017 to 174,000 in 2018.
These findings were reported in, “Opioid Use Decreased in Medicare Part D, While Medication-Assisted Treatment Increased” by the . . .