Prior Authorization for Opioid Use Disorder Versus Pain Medications: Lessons Learned for Parity Enforcement

CONCLUSIONS: The disparate use of prior authorization in 2017 for opioid use disorder medications as compared with opioid pain medications suggests that formulary decision making may be inconsistent between medications used to treat substance use disorders and those used to treat pain. If Part D formularies publicly released their decision-making criteria, then there would be a greater understanding of why prior authorization was differentially applied. Greater transparency would help ensure that formulary decisions are not the result of biases and stigma toward substance use disorders.PMID:33823968

Source: Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs - April 7, 2021 Category: Addiction Authors: Tami L Mark William J Parish Ellen M Weber Gary A Zarkin Source Type: research