County‐level access to opioid use disorder medications in medicare Part D (2010‐2015)

• Published in: Health services research 2019-04, Vol.54 (2), p.390-398
• Main Authors: Abraham, Amanda J., Adams, Grace Bagwell, Bradford, Ashley C., Bradford, William D.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: access; Buprenorphine; Buprenorphine - administration & dosage; Buprenorphine - therapeutic use; Consumer research; Data collection; Demographics; Demography; Drug development; Drugs; Evidence-based medicine; Geography; Government programs; Health care; Health care reform; Health Services Accessibility - statistics & numerical data; Humans; Logistic Models; Marketing research; Medicare; Medicare Part D - statistics & numerical data; Naltrexone; Naltrexone - administration & dosage; Naltrexone - therapeutic use; Narcotics; Opiate Substitution Treatment - methods; Opiate Substitution Treatment - statistics & numerical data; Opioid abuse; opioid use disorder; Opioid-Related Disorders - drug therapy; Opioids; Pharmaceutical policy; Practice Patterns, Physicians' - statistics & numerical data; Prescribing; Prescriptions (Drugs); Racial inequality; Regional variations; Regression analysis; Residence Characteristics; Socioeconomic Factors; Substance Use Disorder; Training; United States
• ISSN: 0017-9124; 1475-6773
• DOI: 10.1111/1475-6773.13113

Objective To identify geographic disparities in access to opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment medications and county demographic and economic characteristics associated with access to buprenorphine and oral naltrexone prescribers in Medicare Part D. Data Sources/Study Setting We utilized data from the Medicare Part D Prescription Drug Event Standard Analytic File (2010‐2015). Study Design/Data Collection We used logistic regression to examine county‐level access to OUD medication prescribers. Principal Findings There was a 5.6 percentage point increase in counties with access to an OUD prescriber over the study period. However, in 2015, 60 percent of US counties lacked access to a Medicare Part D buprenorphine prescriber and over 75 percent lacked access to an oral naltrexone prescriber. Increased access to OUD prescribers was largely concentrated in urban counties. Results of logistic regression indicate regional differences and potential racial disparities in access to OUD prescribers. Conclusions To improve access to buprenorphine and naltrexone treatment for Medicare Part D enrollees, CMS may consider implementing educational and training initiatives focused on OUD treatment, offering training to obtain a buprenorphine waiver at no cost to providers, and sending targeted information to providers in low OUD treatment capacity areas.