The impact of medical and recreational marijuana laws on opioid prescribing in employer-sponsored health insurance

Jiebing Wen; Hefei Wen; J. S. Butler; Jeffery C. Talbert

doi:10.1002/hec.4237

The impact of medical and recreational marijuana laws on opioid prescribing in employer-sponsored health insurance

Jiebing Wen, Hefei Wen, J. S. Butler, Jeffery C. Talbert

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

14 Scopus citations

Abstract

Using data from Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database between 2009 and 2015, we studied the effects of medical and recreational marijuana laws on opioid prescribing in employer-sponsored health insurance. We used a differences-in-differences (DD) approach and found that the implementation of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) reduced morphine milligram equivalents per enrollee by 7% and 13%, respectively. The reduction associated with MMLs was predominately in people aged 55–64, whereas the reduction associated with RMLs was largely in people aged 35–44 and aged 45–54. Our findings suggest that both MMLs and RMLs have the potential to reduce opioid prescribing in the privately insured population, especially for the middle-aged population.

Original language	English
Pages (from-to)	989-1000
Number of pages	12
Journal	Health Economics (United Kingdom)
Volume	30
Issue number	5
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1002/hec.4237
State	Published - May 2021

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
The research was supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through grant number UL1TR001998. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. A working‐paper version of the manuscript is included in Jiebing Wen's PhD dissertation titled “Evidence‐based approach to drug crisis” (2020). Theses and Dissertations—University of Kentucky Public Policy and Administration. 35. https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.136

Funding Information:
The research was supported by the NIH National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences through grant number UL1TR001998. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. A working-paper version of the manuscript is included in Jiebing Wen's PhD dissertation titled ?Evidence-based approach to drug crisis? (2020). Theses and Dissertations?University of Kentucky Public Policy and Administration. 35. https://doi.org/10.13023/etd.2020.136

Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Keywords

medical marijuana laws
pain management
prescription opioids
recreational marijuana laws

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Health Policy

UN SDGs

This output contributes to the following UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

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10.1002/hec.4237

Cite this

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abstract = "Using data from Truven Health MarketScan Commercial Claims and Encounters Database between 2009 and 2015, we studied the effects of medical and recreational marijuana laws on opioid prescribing in employer-sponsored health insurance. We used a differences-in-differences (DD) approach and found that the implementation of medical marijuana laws (MMLs) and recreational marijuana laws (RMLs) reduced morphine milligram equivalents per enrollee by 7% and 13%, respectively. The reduction associated with MMLs was predominately in people aged 55–64, whereas the reduction associated with RMLs was largely in people aged 35–44 and aged 45–54. Our findings suggest that both MMLs and RMLs have the potential to reduce opioid prescribing in the privately insured population, especially for the middle-aged population.",

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The impact of medical and recreational marijuana laws on opioid prescribing in employer-sponsored health insurance

Abstract

Bibliographical note

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

UN SDGs

Access to Document

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