Anthem Affiliated Health Plans More Than Doubled the Number of Consumers Receiving Whole-Person Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

To make a positive impact on consumer health and lessen the impact of the opioid epidemic, Anthem affiliated health plans pledged four years ago to ensure significantly more consumers received both drug therapy and counseling treatment in an effort to treat the whole person and achieve what are believed to be better outcomes for opioid use disorder.

Anthem met these goals by boosting the combined percentage of consumers in employer-based, individual and Medicaid plans with opioid use disorder receiving both therapies from 18 percent to 36 percent in 26 plans nationally—more than doubling the number of consumers receiving both therapies. Medicaid plans alone increased from 24 percent to 55 percent.

The goal was met just as the country commemorates National Recovery Month, which recognizes people who are in recovery and those who support them. Increasing the number of consumers receiving both therapies becomes even more relevant as the country struggles with the COVID-19 pandemic. The White House Drug Policy issued a recent analysis showing that drug overdose deaths are up 11 percent for the first four months of 2020 during the pandemic compared to the same time last year.

“It’s more important than ever that health insurers, like Anthem, are taking a leadership role and helping to ensure people receive comprehensive treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders,” said Greg Williams, a national recovery advocate instrumental in the launch of the seminal Surgeon General’s report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health: Facing Addiction in America, and co-founder of The Alliance for Addiction Payment reform. “Medication for certain substance use disorders has the potential to save lives, but medication alone is not a panacea for long-term outcomes. The best way to promote sustained recovery is to combine the use of medication in treatment with evidence-based behavioral therapies and recovery support services.”

Anthem is committed to supporting holistic policy changes that help reduce, prevent and deter opioid use disorder, as well as those that help consumers gain better access to opioid use disorder treatment and assist in their recovery. Its health plans, working in tandem with pharmacy, have already been successful in lowering the number of opioid prescriptions filled by more than 60 percent since 2015 when prescriptions peaked.