Several States Want Insurance Companies to Cover Abuse-Deterrent Painkillers

A bill under consideration in Maine would require health insurance companies to cover abuse-deterrent opioid painkillers at the same level as other opioids. Massachusetts passed a similar law last year, NPR reports. Other states, including Vermont and California, are considering comparable legislation.

Pfizer, which makes abuse-deterrent painkillers, asked Maine state Representative Barry Hobbins to sponsor the bill. The measure initially called on insurance companies to cover all abuse-deterrent opioids as “preferred drugs.” It was amended to permit insurance companies to choose the more expensive painkillers. If they do, patients’ co-pay level must be the same as for traditional versions of painkillers.

Insurance companies warn such legislation will drive up the cost of monthly premiums for customers. Dr. Mark Publicker, past president of the Northern New England Society of Addiction Medicine, says he is not sure the bill will have the desired impact. He notes the new opioids are not abuse-proof. Instead, he says, lawmakers should focus on increasing access to treatment.

A study published last month found that the rate of OxyContin overdoses dropped 19 percent in the two years after Pfizer introduced an abuse-deterrent formulation in 2010. Prescriptions of the drug decreased 19 percent after the new version was released.

The original version of OxyContin contained highly concentrated levels of the opioid oxycodone, which was designed so small amounts of the drug were released over a long period. A person who wanted to abuse the drug could crush and then snort it, or dissolve it in liquid and inject it. The Food and Drug Administration approved an abuse-deterrent version of OxyContin, which is more difficult to crush. It turns into a gooey gel if it is crushed, making it almost impossible to snort or inject.