TY - JOUR
KW - Alcohol Deterrents/economics/therapeutic use
KW - Alcoholism/drug therapy
KW - Buprenorphine/economics/therapeutic use
KW - Cost Sharing
KW - Data Collection
KW - Disulfiram/economics/therapeutic use
KW - Drugs, Generic/economics
KW - Formularies as Topic
KW - Health Services Accessibility/economics/statistics & numerical data
KW - Humans
KW - Insurance Coverage/economics/statistics & numerical data
KW - Insurance, Pharmaceutical Services/economics/statistics & numerical data
KW - Naltrexone/economics/therapeutic use
KW - Narcotic Antagonists/economics/therapeutic use
KW - Opioid-Related Disorders/drug therapy
KW - United States
AU - C. M. Horgan
AU - S. Reif
AU - D. Hodgkin
AU - D. W. Garnick
AU - E. L. Merrick
A1 - 
AB - Health plans have implemented cost sharing and administrative controls to constrain escalating prescription expenditures. These policies may impact physicians' prescribing and patients' use of these medications. Important clinical advances in the pharmacological treatment of addiction highlight the need to examine how pharmacy benefits consider medications for substance dependence. The extent of restrictions influencing the availability of these medications to consumers is unknown. We use nationally representative survey data to examine the extent and stringency of private health plans' management of naltrexone and disulfiram for alcohol dependence, and buprenorphine for opiate dependence. Thirty-one percent of insurance products excluded buprenorphine from formularies, whereas 55% placed it on the highest cost-sharing tier. Generic naltrexone is the only substance dependence medication that is both rarely excluded from formularies and usually placed on a lower cost-sharing tier. These findings demonstrate that pharmacy benefits have an impact on access to medications for substance abuse.
BT - Journal of substance abuse treatment
C5 - Opioids & Substance Use; Financing & Sustainability
CP - 2
CY - United States
IS - 2
JF - Journal of substance abuse treatment
N2 - Health plans have implemented cost sharing and administrative controls to constrain escalating prescription expenditures. These policies may impact physicians' prescribing and patients' use of these medications. Important clinical advances in the pharmacological treatment of addiction highlight the need to examine how pharmacy benefits consider medications for substance dependence. The extent of restrictions influencing the availability of these medications to consumers is unknown. We use nationally representative survey data to examine the extent and stringency of private health plans' management of naltrexone and disulfiram for alcohol dependence, and buprenorphine for opiate dependence. Thirty-one percent of insurance products excluded buprenorphine from formularies, whereas 55% placed it on the highest cost-sharing tier. Generic naltrexone is the only substance dependence medication that is both rarely excluded from formularies and usually placed on a lower cost-sharing tier. These findings demonstrate that pharmacy benefits have an impact on access to medications for substance abuse.
PP - United States
PY - 2008
SN - 0740-5472; 0740-5472
SP - 147
EP - 156
EP - 
T1 - Availability of addiction medications in private health plans
T2 - Journal of substance abuse treatment
TI - Availability of addiction medications in private health plans
U1 - Opioids & Substance Use; Financing & Sustainability
U2 - 17499959
VL - 34
VO - 0740-5472; 0740-5472
Y1 - 2008
ER -