"Insurance Barriers Impede Treatment for Doctors Fighting US Opioid Epidemic"

Doctors fighting the US opioid epidemic are facing a bureaucratic hurdle called "prior authorization" imposed by health insurance companies, which requires permission before prescribing addiction treatment. This requirement is seen as burdensome and potentially life-threatening, especially as overdose rates continue to rise. Prior authorization particularly targets buprenorphine, a gold-standard therapy for opioid use disorder, and is more prevalent in for-profit health plans and Republican-leaning states. While efforts to lift prior authorization requirements are underway, stigma and barriers to treatment persist in the face of the deadliest drug epidemic in the US.