Large Employers Work to Tackle Opioids Crisis

From Health Plan Weekly

Kaiser Family Foundation’s new study shows that opioid addiction and overdose treatments cost large U.S. employers $2.6 billion in 2016. Two major business coalitions focused on health care tell AIS Health that the crisis affects everyone, but assert that employers are focused more on such matters as plan benefit design changes for opioid alternatives and working with health plan and PBM partners on services — and less on costs.

According to Kaiser Family Foundation, large employers’ total opioid treatment costs break down to $1.3 billion for outpatient treatment, $911 million for inpatient care, and $435 million for prescription drugs.

“I don’t think the emphasis for employers is on the cost of opioids, in terms of dollars. It’s more on the potential impact to employees and their families,” Steve Wojcik, vice president of public policy for the National Business Group on Health (NBGH), says.

NBGH’s most recent annual member survey showed that the most cited driver of large employers’ increasing health care trend was specialty pharmaceuticals. There is also growing awareness among employers that opioid misuse “is an issue, and should be viewed like any other chronic condition.”

To help its member companies tackle the issue, NBGH recently held a webinar to explore behavioral health treatment for opioids.

Cheryl Larson, president and CEO of the Midwest Business Group on Health, says opioids are a major focus of its efforts with member companies. The group encourages its member employers to be proactive on the issue and produces supporting materials such as employer guides and toolkits.

Kaiser’s report found that, on average, inpatient and outpatient treatment for opioid addiction and overdose added roughly $26 per person to the annual cost of health benefits coverage for large employers in 2016, up from about $3 in 2004. It also highlighted that opioid prescription use is highest for older enrollees among people with large employer coverage.

Subscribers may read the in-depth article online. Learn more about subscribing to AIS Health's publications.