According to the Sept. 15 report, over 50,000 Medicare Part D recipients experienced an opioid overdose in 2021, either from prescribed or illicit medications. The OIG said this number is likely an undercount, as it only accounts for people who had overdose treatment billed to Medicare.
Over 1 million Medicare beneficiaries had an opioid use disorder in 2021, but fewer than 1 in 5 of these beneficiaries received treatment with medication for the disorder. According to the report, this low proportion may indicate Medicare recipients have trouble accessing these treatments.
The OIG has recommended that CMS do more to increase awareness about treatment for opioid use disorder and increase the number of providers for Medicare beneficiaries.
The number of Medicare recipients who were prescribed naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, also increased in 2021.
Though overdose rates and opioid use disorder continues to be a concern, the number of Medicare beneficiaries receiving high amounts of opioids each year continues to decrease. In 2021, the OIG identified around 199,000 Medicare recipients as receiving high amounts of opioids, down from around 500,000 in 2016.
Around a quarter of Medicare recipients were prescribed some form of opioids in 2021, down from 33 percent in 2016.
“There is clearly still cause for concern and vigilance, even as some positive trends emerge,” the OIG said in the report. “Monitoring opioid use and access to medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder as well as to naloxone are critical to addressing the opioid crisis.”
