Some of Anthem’s policies leading to this decline include limiting coverage for initial short-acting opioid prescriptions to seven days for individual, employer-based and Medicaid members, as well as requiring preauthorization for long-acting narcotics. The seven-day policy excludes members with cancer, sickle cell anemia or those receiving palliative care.
The payer now aims to reduce filled opioid prescriptions by 35 percent by 2019.
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