Payer Announces Partnership to Address Opioid Misuse, Disposal

CareSource has announced a partnership with a medication disposal solution to help members avoid accidental poisoning and opioid misuse.

The solution is a powder that disables the active ingredients in a patient’s unused or expired medication, according to the press release.

When a member wants to dispose of her medications, she can pour water and the CareSource-provided powder into the prescription bottle. After shaking the bottle for 30 seconds, the contents will chemically and physically neutralize the effects of the medication.

“DisposeRx makes at-home medication disposal convenient and easy for our members,” said Steve Smitherman, president of CareSource Indiana Market.

“Members can prevent their leftover opioids from being diverted in their community, avoid polluting the water supply and most importantly, prevent accidental poisonings. Effective home disposal of leftover opioids is a health and safety goal we share with our members.”

The payer is offering the disposal method to Indiana and Ohio members, with plans to expand the solution’s availability throughout the year. Members do not need a prescription in order to obtain the packets. CareSource’s goal is to make the product free and accessible to those who need it.

By partnering with a company that is dedicated to decreasing the risk of drug diversion, overdoses, suicides, and accidental poisoning, CareSource is working to fight the opioid epidemic.

According to a fact sheet, the CareSource Foundation funds programs that improve health outcomes and conditions for low-income and underserved populations. The Foundation invests in health education, disease management, and prevention programs that improve physical and mental health for targeted populations.

In the past, other payers have employed different strategies to combat members’ substance abuse care needs.

For example, Highmark Health (Highmark) implemented a grassroots program in the workplace in which employees could speak openly with each other about substance abuse and the stigma surrounding it.

The group used the acronym LEARN to detail their primary goals including, learn more about substance use disorders, educate others, advocate for reforms and effective substance abuse care, support recovery, and network amongst themselves and with their communities to challenge stigmas and reduce substance abuse harm.

Highmark also expanded a partnership with an end-to-end substance abuse care vendor to help support members with substance abuse care needs. The payer created a program that would use personalization to help keep members in treatment and allow providers to leverage coordinated care and peer support to provide continuity of care.

For CareSource’s member population, however, the opioid epidemic may hit particularly close to home. The payer boasts one of the largest Medicaid plans in the nation. Its overall membership totals two million, which includes Affordable Care Act marketplace enrollees, Medicare Advantage members, and dual eligibles.

Nearly four in ten non-elderly adults who have been diagnosed with an opioid use disorder have coverage through Medicaid, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation brief. Additionally, the Medicaid program overall has a higher prevalence of individuals with an opioid use disorder than the national average.

Recognizing that Medicaid populations are particularly in need of substance abuse care for opioids, Manatt Health developed a toolkit to help state Medicaid programs fight the opioid epidemic.

The toolkit recommended increasing access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT). This form of treatment uses agonist drugs to activate opioid receptors in the brain and prevent withdrawal symptoms.

The Manatt Health toolkit also suggested that states leverage a coordinated, team-based care approach to substance abuse care for opioids and continually monitor and evaluate their opioid use disorder interventions to ensure that they are effective.