Maine Bureau of Insurance: Opioid Prescription Claims Drop Between 2016 – 2017

In 2016, the Maine State Legislature enacted Public Law 2015, Chapter 488, “An Act to Prevent Opiate Abuse by Strengthening the Controlled Substances Prescription Monitoring Program.” This statute established limits on the duration and dosage of prescriptions that healthcare providers may write for opioid medications. The statute also tasks the Bureau of Insurance with studying the effects of this legislation on claims paid by health carriers and the out-of-pocket costs (coinsurance, copayments, and deductibles) paid by policy holders and certificate holders. 

According to a Maine Bureau of Insurance report, prescriptions for opioid painkillers in Maine have dropped off significantly, in no small part due to a prescription monitoring law that has been called one of the toughest in the country. 

The report specifically finds that opioid prescription claims dropped by nearly 20 percent, with about 27,700 fewer claims between the first half of 2016 and the same period in 2017. Further, the report indicates that insurance companies spent $2.4 million less on opioid and opioid derivatives, while plan members spent nearly $580,000 less.

The decline is thought to be a product of providers weaning patients off of painkillers or using safer alternative modalities for pain, such as physical therapy, massage, or other alternative treatments. 

The recent trend in Maine is part of a larger pattern. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid painkiller prescriptions have dropped nationally in recent years after surging since the late 1990s and peaking in 2010. Maine topped the nation for the rate of prescriptions for highly addictive, long-term opioid painkillers in 2012. 

The use of opioids in the context of workplace injuries has been a significant topic of discussion in recent years. With increased awareness of the adverse effects of opioids, the use of alternative therapy, and the new monitoring law, expect the trends above to continue.