![]() |
|
|
FlashChat | Actuarial Discussion | Preliminary Exams | CAS/SOA Exams | Cyberchat | Around the World | Suggestions |
![]() |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread | Display Modes |
#52
|
|||
|
|||
![]() How exactly is it that "actuaries" can solve an opioid crisis? How many other crisis' exist in the health sector that "actuaries" have been exposed to now for decades? Clinician's seem to be in an infinitely better position to address this issue. Its like asking us why doctors are writing scripts.
Last edited by bigb; 08-02-2017 at 11:28 PM.. |
#53
|
|||
|
|||
![]() Quote:
I'm not positive I buy into the idea of being able to reduce addiction by predicting who might become an addict. My bias is towards viewing addiction as a medical condition which means my preference for solving any addiction would be through a better understanding of the biological processes that create addiction. I don't think actuaries are of much use in that realm. |
#54
|
||||
|
||||
![]() Thanks for your notes. I think there are a few different ways we can help, based on conversations with some fellow actuaries; however, not all of them are unique to actuaries. I also think other people out there have multiple more ideas on what we could do to help.
Help build models to identify people who are at risk, through both prescription use and medical care that indicates an issue, and convey this to care management teams. Identify providers whose prescription patterns may indicate an issue. Cooperate with public health programs that intend to mitigate the crisis. Evaluate benefits of non-traditional treatment options Evaluate cost savings that would result from expanded network or expanded resources for treatment of opioid addiction -- this could be shared w/ private insurers or governments for resource allocation. Construct methods to quickly identify regions or providers that are oversubscribing, and an appropriate response Just a few thoughts. There are more actuaries now interested in getting involved with public health, and the SOA Health section has created a public health subgroup. If you're interested - here is some more info: http://healthwatch.soa.org/?issueID=4&pageID=18
__________________
Stephen Camilli, FSA | President ACTEX Learning | Mad River Books Click to view our Actuarial eLearning Offerings: Webinars | Exam Prep | VEE Courses |
#55
|
||||
|
||||
![]() Quote:
I have read stats that say Medicaid recipients are like 5 times more likely to abuse opioids than a non-Medicaid recipient. This article shows that a lot of the states that took the Medicaid expansion have had increases in opioid deaths and abuse that are greater than increases in other areas holding a lot of things constant. While Medicaid has increased access to treatment options it has also increased access to the pain killers themselves. In my estimation it is much easier to become addicted than it is to overcome addiction so the increase in the amount of treatment and the effectiveness of the treatment would have to be substantially larger than the increase in the access to prescription of these drugs to actually lower addiction rates. This data would seem to show that this is not the case. So sighting increases in treatment options offered by Medicaid without discussing increases in access to the addictive drugs themselves is not helpful or actuarial imo. That said I understand discussing Medicaid's role in starting, sustaining, and expanding the opioid crisis is going to be a very unpopular discussion to have. https://spottedtoad.wordpress.com/20...opioid-crisis/ Last edited by dgtatum; 08-04-2017 at 03:36 PM.. |
#56
|
|||
|
|||
![]() Quote:
|
#57
|
||||
|
||||
![]() I believe that people in pain shouldn't be punished because some folks misuse opioids.
AMA protests limitations recently proposed by a PBM. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...08-16-14-14-23 Quote:
Disclosure - Not an actuary, never worked on health care when I was an actuary. *Al Gore still insists that the only crisis worth caring about is global warming. Be that as it may. . .
__________________
Carol Marler, "Just My Opinion" Pluto is no longer a planet and I am no longer an actuary. Please take my opinions as non-actuarial. My latest favorite quotes, updated Nov. 20, 2018. Spoiler: Last edited by JMO; 08-16-2017 at 03:36 PM.. |
#58
|
|||
|
|||
![]() this is apparently not just a boring public health problem for those with nothing better to do. Express scripts and likely health carriers will be getting involved with this. Timely to have the OP bring this up-maybe we can be ahead of the game on this
https://www.yahoo.com/news/express-s...175222599.html |
#59
|
|||
|
|||
![]() When I had a kidney stone blasted I was given a 90 day (@ 6 pills per day) script for vicodin. Someone told me the street value for 540 vicodin tablets was several K.
|
#60
|
||||
|
||||
![]() News item about opioid addiction and insurance fraud.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories...08-24-04-10-35 Quote:
__________________
Carol Marler, "Just My Opinion" Pluto is no longer a planet and I am no longer an actuary. Please take my opinions as non-actuarial. My latest favorite quotes, updated Nov. 20, 2018. Spoiler: |
![]() |
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|