Trends in Out-of-Pocket Costs for and Characteristics of Pharmacy-Dispensed Buprenorphine Medications for Opioid Use Disorder Treatment by Type of Payer, 2015 to 2020.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

Buprenorphine has been approved for opioid use disorder treatment, yet remains underutilized. Cost may present a barrier; little is known about how out-of-pocket costs vary.

Objective

To determine if out-of-pocket costs and prescription characteristics for buprenorphine varied by type of payer.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional study used all-payer data on retail pharmacy-dispensed buprenorphine prescriptions from January 1, 2015, through December 31, 2020, for adults (aged ≥18 years) in the US, excluding formulations primarily used to treat pain. Data were analyzed from July 2021 to June 2022.

Exposures

Type of payer (private and commercial, self-pay, Medicaid, Medicare, assistance, and unknown) for dispensed prescription.

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SUBMITTER: Strahan AE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9918874 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature