September 26, 2022
Opioid/Substance Use Disorders
  • A FAIR Health analysis – released to Axios one day in advance of publication – shows the rising burden of substance use across the U.S. According to the study of private insurance claims, 42 states saw an increase in the proportion of patients with opioid and opioid-like drug overdoses compared to the total number of patients using medical services, ranging from 148.4 percent in Pennsylvania to 0.7 percent in Minnesota. Even though men were more likely to be diagnosed with a substance use disorder (SUD) during the pandemic, women were more likely to overdose. The percentage of patients with an SUD diagnosis decreased 0.1 percent between 2019 and 2021, but the number of patients with an overdose diagnosis increased 4.3 percent during the same time period. (Article here; Study here)