The solution to the opioid crisis includes more than treatment

The numbers tell the story. In 2016, 3,894 New Yorkers died from a drug overdose, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and from 2015 to 2016, New York experienced the largest annual increase in drug-related deaths in six years. Drug overdoses are now the leading cause of death among Americans under the age of 50. This epidemic continues to grow, affecting New Yorkers across all demographics and community data

. The crisis has raised questions about whether health plans adequately cover treatment. It is an oversimplification of how to treat the opioid crisis and the conversation needs to focus on more than what is covered and what is not.

In recent years, New York has taken a number of steps to counter the epidemic of opioids. , including legislation to improve access to treatment and expand coverage of treatment options. In addition, health plans recognize the impact of opioid addiction on individuals, their families, and our state, providing coverage for a wide range of services – including outpatient and outpatient treatments – for those individuals. to ensure that all New Yorkers

The opioid epidemic has created complex challenges for everyone – patients, families, clinicians, hospitals, health plans and policy makers . Rather than point fingers, the discussion should focus on evidence-based interventions, recognizing that the nature of substance use disorders is iterative and requires a multi-pronged approach including:

Promote evidence-based treatment. It is essential that care be based on treatments that have been proven. Despite all the steps taken by New York to establish rules for the services to be covered, we still lack standards to badess the effectiveness of the treatment provided and whether providers and institutions follow evidence-based standards. . The state should adopt standards for treatment and develop results-reporting systems to ensure that the full range of evidence-based treatment options is accessible to people who are at risk. along the continuum of care

. Communication between the care team is essential when patients go through different levels of care to ensure that they are treated in the most clinically appropriate setting. While this may sound simple, more can be done to ensure that care is integrated and coordinated, including physician-physician communication between health plans and treatment facilities regarding patient care, and patient is informed of all available treatment options. In addition, health professionals who administer naloxone or other anti-overdose agents should report the event to the state's prescription monitoring program, which would provide vital information to others practitioners before prescribing an opioid to the patient in the future. To reverse the epidemic of opioids, patients and families need to be better understood and sensitized, so that they are aware of the full range of available addiction treatment options . Education and public awareness programs are also needed to reduce access to opioids and promote other treatment options to prevent addiction.

To break the cycle of addiction, it will involve everyone in the health system. New York's health plans have been strong partners with the state, health care providers and patient groups to fight the opioid crisis. They remain committed to addressing this crisis by ensuring that services and treatments meet the specific clinical needs of patients and are proven by evidence to be effective