Highmark Expands Efforts To Combat Opioid Abuse

PITTSBURGH, PA - Highmark Health is introducing new prescription limits in an effort to combat the ongoing opioid crisis in Pennsylvania.

The Pittsburgh-based insurance carrier on Thursday announced that effective in March, Highmark members who have never used opioids before will be limited to an initial seven-day supply of the medications.

Additionally, Highmark will require a prior authorization for extended-release opioids for members who have not recently been prescribed such medications.

In making the announcement, Highmark officials cited Centers for Disease Control and Prevention statistics indicating the chances of being addicted increase from 6 percent for those who use opioids for just a day to 13 percent for those using them longer than a week.

Highmark also will partner with axialHealthcare, a Nashville analytics company, on a new program that will give physicians access to data that can alert them to patient use trends and symptoms that could increase the risk of opioid addiction.

Highmark also plans to use provider claims data in an attempt to identify doctors on the verge of overprescribing opioid medications.

The moves are Highmark’s latest attempt to combat an opioid epidemic that has become calamitous on its home turf. Pennsylvania has one of the highest fatal opioid overdose rates in the country, with the state rate more than twice the national average.

Photo: Associated Press.