There is an epidemic that is infecting our country, and it’s not the Ebola crisis that has recently dominated headlines. According to the Center for Disease Control, drug overdoses from opioids like Oxycodone, Percocet and Vicodin kill more Americans than car accidents. Working people sustaining injuries as a result of going to work have found themselves being labeled drug addicts as a result of a dependence on these highly addictive painkillers. The Workers Compensation Research Institute claims that the states of New York and Louisiana have the highest use of opioids of all states in the country among injured workers. We need to keep our workforce off drugs and get them back to work.
Governor Cuomo announced that workers' compensation costs for employers will drop by $45 million. The Cuomo administration is going through the workers’ comp system to find savings, including a reduction in fee schedule for doctors. The issue of treatment guidelines and how they are developed and implemented will be a part of those discussions. The drug formularies will be at the top of this list because New York does not have treatment guidelines evaluating the long term impact on our injured workforce.
These addictions have multi-layered negative consequences; from the eventual loss of holding down a good job which create instability at home , unethical doctors violating their Hippocratic oaths writing scrip’s to make a buck, violent crimes committed to sustain the addiction and sadly, murders being committed at pharmacies by desperate addicts looking for their daily fix. Over prescribing painkillers and quickly resorting to drugs to treat our injured workforce is dangerous, and we need to find alternatives before more lives are destroyed. California may have found a way.
In a recent study conducted by the CWCI (California Workers Compensation Institute), it was discovered that the state could save employers and insurers between $102 million and $541 million annually by implementing a state-mandated drug formulary. Currently, the New York State does not have a drug formulary.
The study examined formularies already implemented in Texas and Washington State which found that drug formularies not only saves money, but also cuts the prescription of Schedule II opioids. New York has faced serious issues with narcotics—their over use and black market sales—and such a formulary would limit their availability and abuse.
While both formularies appear to be cutting cost as well as prescription drug abuse, there are critical additional issues that were not addressed in the CWCI study: the worker’s health and his or her ability to return to work. Official Disability Guidelines Drug Formulary is an example of a nationally-recognized formulary with proven savings in the millions, and the data indicates a worker’s ability to return to work sooner through the use of its guidelines.
All too often, governments, like private sector corporations, are forced into a position of cost savings as their top priority. This focus frequently undermines the need for medication that will allow the worker to return to their normal job responsibilities in a timely manner. As New York moves through its treatment guideline regulatory process, and drug formularies are considered by the Workers’ Compensation Board, it is imperative that quality of care is not sacrificed. Quality of care should improve with a patient outcome approach to the guidelines - while at the same time manages to save money for employers and providers.
Formularies are not a new concept and are already utilized in group health care and federal health care. Adopting a state-mandated, nationally-recognized formulary that is updated on a continual basis, centered on best practice, and grounded on proven patient outcomes, rather than just cost savings, is a wise choice for New York.
The time to act is now. New York’s Workers’ Compensation Board has an opportunity to not only keep our workforce healthy and off drugs – but they have a unique opportunity to save lives as well.
Kris LaGrange is a syndicated radio show host and head of UCOMM Communications, a labor-focused communications firm. He can be reached at lagrange@ucommworks.com