Lots of accidents that occur in every part of the country are associated with drugs. Various types of drugs are being abused by employees all over the country ranging from narcotics such as marijuana, cocaine and heroin to powerful prescription pain killers used in the treatment of many types of health complications. Research has shown that opioids are playing a significant factor in Workers Compensation cases all over the United States. Experts believe unless critical steps are taken, the situation will get out of hand in the near future. What are opioids and how are they playing a part in Workers Compensation cases?
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Opioids are powerful pain killers normally prescribed for people that have just undergone invasive types of surgery to help them gain relief. Terminal cancer patients also receive these types of medication to help reduce their pain in the final stages of their lives. Many Workers Compensation patients that suffer physical injuries that may require surgery or other forms of treatment are usually prescribed this form of medication. However, most of these patients end up getting hooked on the prescribed drugs and usually require higher dosages. Opioids are quite expensive and increasing the medical costs of Workers Compensation insurance in many states all over the country.
Employees Covered under Workers Compensation Abusing Opioids
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It?s important to know that opioids are supposed to be administered to patients for very short periods of time, meaning a couple of days or weeks, at most. However, there are many Workers Compensation claimants that have taken these drugs for years, with no hope of when they will be able to quit. It must be noted that insurance companies are responsible for paying the medical costs of injured employees that successfully file Workers Compensation claims. Continuous use of opioids is therefore increasing the costs spent on drugs by insurance carriers.
Research by the National Council on Compensation Insurance indicates that 19 % of total medical costs under Workers Compensation in 2011 were spent on opioids and other types of medication. This is very substantial when compared to figures obtained in a similar study in 1990 which indicated that just 2% of Workers Compensation medical costs had been spent on drugs. During 1990, opioids were used in minimal quantities by Americans. Over time, many people started using these powerful prescription drugs and in 2000, the amount of money spent on drugs had risen to 10% of total medical costs under Workers Compensation insurance in the United States.
Apart from the increasing costs, opioids are also affecting ?Workers Compensation insurance in many other ways. For instance, it?s known that drugs such as Xanax and Vicodin result in various undesirable side effects on users. Many of these side effects result in physical and /or mental complications. These side effects are then indicated by employees when filing their Workers Compensation claims and when these claims go through successfully, workers end up with higher payouts as a result of their opioid abuse signs. This further increase the expenditure of insurance carriers and this directly leads to higher insurance premium rates for employers.
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