July 25, 2017
Opioid Epidemic Hits Nearly All Age Groups in Both Rural and Urban U.S. Areas
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In rural areas around the country, in the period 2007 to 2016, private insurance claim lines with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses were found in every age group from 13-18 years to over 80 years, and in urban areas, in every age group from 13-18 years to 71-80 years.
Those findings were based on data from FAIR Health, a national, independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to bringing transparency to healthcare costs and health insurance information. As detailed in the third in a series of FAIR Health white papers on the nation's opioid epidemic, "Peeling Back the Curtain on Regional Variation in the Opioid Crisis: Spotlight on Five Key Urban Centers and Their Respective States," claim lines with opioid abuse and dependence diagnoses were more concentrated among middle-aged people in rural than urban settings, where they were spread more broadly among young and middle-aged people.
In its latest white paper, FAIR Health analyzed data from its database of more than 23 billion privately billed healthcare claims to study the opioid crisis in rural and urban settings, in the nation's five most populous cities (Chicago, Houston, Los Angeles, New York and Philadelphia) and in their respective states during the recent ten-year period 2007 to 2016. The term "opioid-related diagnoses" referred to four diagnoses: opioid abuse, opioid dependence, heroin overdose and opioid overdose (i.e., overdose of opioids excluding heroin).
Among the findings:
FAIR Health President Robin Gelburd commented: "FAIR Health is committed to using its vast data repository to shed light on the opioid crisis. By spotlighting the substantial regional variation in opioid-related diagnoses and procedures, we hope to contribute to the work of those addressing this national epidemic."