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We know little about the prevalence of prescribed opioids across various insured groups in the U.S. In this retrospective study, researchers used a national claims database to determine trends in opioid use among 48 million commercial-insurance and Medicare Advantage beneficiaries from 2007 through 2016.
From 2007 through 2016, the following changes occurred:
For commercial beneficiaries, quarterly prevalences of opioid use remained stable at 6%, and average daily doses increased slightly, from 15 milligram morphine equivalents (MME) to 17 MME.
For age-eligible Medicare beneficiaries, quarterly prevalences of opioid use increased from 12% to 15%; average daily doses remained stable at 20 MME.
For disabled Medicare beneficiaries, quarterly preva…