Managed care provider sees encouraging trends on opioids

Medicaid managed care provider AmeriHealth Caritas last week announced that its multifaceted Opioid Blueprint initiative is substantially reducing opioid prescribing while increasing use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in its health plan markets across the country.

The company stated that across its markets from 2015-2017, there was a 26% decrease in opioid use and a 12% increase in MAT utilization. The Opioid Blueprint emphasizes efforts such as intervention at the time of prescription dispensing, removal of prior-authorization requirements that hinder access to MAT for opioid use disorders, and enhanced care management for high-risk populations.

Under the Opioid Blueprint, AmeriHealth Caritas also has expanded access to the overdose reversal drug naloxone, seeing a 270% increase in its use. Other components of the effort have included assigning peer support specialists to high-need special populations, such as pregnant women and high utilizers of medical care.

“This frontline apprach and personalized interface have given us a deeper understanding of the opioid crisis and helped to fully inform the best practices in our blueprint that are leading to our successes,” AmeriHealth Caritas senior vice president of medical affairs Andrea Gelzer said in a news release.