Health insurance major Cigna, has taken a move further in curbing the exploitation of prescription painkillers. The American health services giant has recently made an announcement to effectively stop all the coverage of the opioid painkiller, OxyContin for customers on its employer based health plans from the onset of the next year. Reportedly, as a viable alternative to OxyContin, Cigna would continue covering a competing formulation named OxyCodone, which is claimed to be less vulnerable to abuse than the former. Undoubtedly this is one of the most significant moves global health insurance market has witnessed in recent times.
Citing reliable sources, OxyContin is probably the only preferred opioid based prescription painkiller Cigna is removing from its list of formularies that its health plans would commit to pay for. The announcement ironically made it to the headlines exactly two months after the U.S. president stamped opioid abuse crisis as a ‘national emergency’. In fact, as per a report put forth by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, in 2015, there were over 33000 opioid related casualty cases, claimed to be the highest tally so far. Adding to it, it has been also estimated that 50% of the overall fatalities were closely linked to widely used prescription opioids such as OxyContin.
As an aftermath of the catastrophic scenario, Purdue Pharma, the OxyContin maker, has been sued by local governments and several states on the grounds of alleged deceptive merchandizing practices that have ultimately led to an opioid addiction epidemic nationwide. Cigna being a leading health insurer of America is taking an effort to notify the patients and doctors regarding its decision to stop covering the particular opioid. However, the individuals who are already using OxyContin for cancer treatments and hospice care would receive the medication coverage till 2018, cite reliable sources.
The insurer recently inked a value based contract with Collegium Pharmaceutical Inc. for an extended release oxycodone equivalent, Xtampza ER. As reported, under the pact, Collegium would reduce the cost of medication for a number of Cigna’s benefit plans. The health insurer further added that the drug maker is financially accountable if the average daily dosage of Xtampza ER exceeds a threshold limit.
Cigna is one of those few names in the health insurance business space that has always been inclined to a patient centric outcome based healthcare model. The company in 2016, announced its mission of slashing the usage of opioids by 25% within next three years. As a part of the initiative, Cigna proclaimed that it would encourage doctors to prescribe opioid based drugs in lesser quantities. Amidst the fanatic Opioid addiction in U.S. market, Cigna’s decision to stop all its coverage for OxyContin, one the most prescribed opioid based drugs, certainly reflects the U.S. health insurer’s commitment toward its expanding customer base.