FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 3,
2015
Contact: CMS Media Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS
Media Inquiries
New
Medicare Part D Opioid Drug Mapping Tool Available
Interactive
online mapping tool allows public to search Medicare Part D opioid prescription
claims data at the state, county, and ZIP code levels
Today, the Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services (CMS) released an interactive online
mapping tool (http://go.cms.gov/opioidheatmap) which shows
geographic comparisons at the state, county, and ZIP code levels of
de-identified Medicare Part D opioid prescription claims – prescriptions
written and then submitted to be filled – within the United States. This new
mapping tool allows the user to see both the number and percentage of opioid
claims at the local level and better understand how this critical issue impacts
communities nationwide.
“The opioid epidemic impacts every
state, county and municipality. To address this epidemic, while ensuring that
individuals with pain receive effective treatment, we need accurate, timely
information about where the problems are and to what extent they exist,” said
CMS Acting Administrator Andy Slavitt. “This new mapping tool gives
providers, local health officials, and others the data to become knowledgeable
about their community’s Medicare opioid prescription rate.”
Deaths from drug overdose have
risen steadily over the past two decades. In 2013, overdose from prescription
opioid pain relievers claimed more than 16,000 lives, with more than 145,000
people dying from these overdoses in the last decade. Heroin deaths have also
been climbing sharply, more than doubling between 2010 and 2013. The resulting
health, social, and economic consequences for communities across the country
are enormous.
“The opioid abuse and overdose
epidemic continues to devastate American families,” said CDC Director Tom
Frieden, M.D., M.P.H. “This mapping tool will help doctors, nurses, and other
health care providers assess opioid-prescribing habits while continuing to
ensure patients have access to the most effective pain treatment. Informing
prescribers can help reduce opioid use disorder among patients.”
The data
used in this mapping tool is from 2013 Medicare Part D prescription drug claims
prescribed by health care providers and does not contain beneficiary
information (https://www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/Medicare-Provider-Charge-Data/Part-D-Prescriber.html).
The data set, which is privacy-protected, contains information from over one
million distinct providers who collectively prescribed approximately $103
billion in prescription drugs and supplies paid under the Part D program. The
data characterizes the individual prescribing patterns of health providers that
participate in Medicare Part D for over 3,000 distinct drug products. Of the
1.4 billion total Part D claims per year, there were approximately 80.7 million
opioid claims for 116 distinct opioid products contributing to $3.7 billion of
the total Part D prescription drug costs. By
openly sharing data in a secure, broad, and interactive way, CMS is supporting
a better understanding of regional provider prescribing behavior variability
and is adding insight to local health care delivery.
The tool includes interactive maps
that allow users to mouse over an area and see its data. The data for each
geographic region includes:
- Percentage of opioid claims
- State average
- National average
- Total providers
- Total opioid claims
- Total claims
CMS and the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services (HHS) believe that this level of transparency will
inform community awareness among providers and local public health officials.
The Administration has made
addressing opioid abuse, dependence, and overdose a priority, and work is
underway within HHS on this important issue. The
evidence-based initiative focuses on three promising areas: informing
opioid prescribing practices, increasing the use of naloxone (a drug that
reverses symptoms of a drug overdose), and using medication-assisted treatment
to treat opioid addiction (http://www.hhs.gov/about/news/2015/03/26/hhs-takes-strong-steps-to-address-opioid-drug-related-overdose-death-and-dependence.html).
As part of this initiative, HHS is
working through the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to develop
opioid prescribing guidelines and supporting training and tools for providers
to make informed prescribing decisions. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health
Services Administration (SAMHSA), Food and Drug Administration (FDA), National
Institutes of Health-National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIH-NIDA), and Office of
the Assistant Secretary for Health (OASH) are active partners in implementing
the Administration’s opioid initiative.
For more information on CMS’
efforts to address the growing problem of abuse of opioids in the Part D
program, read the Part
D Overutilization Monitoring System Summary (http://cms.gov/Newsroom/MediaReleaseDatabase/Fact-sheets/2015-Fact-sheets-items/2015-11-03.html).
