Table 1.
Descriptive characteristics of states with and without opioid prescribing cap laws, prior law implementation
| States with an prescribing cap law (N=24a) | States without a prescribing cap law (N=25b) | |
|---|---|---|
| State patient demographics | ||
|
| ||
| Proportion female | 64.7 | 65.1 |
| Mean age | 53.6 | 54.3 |
| Proportion with any mental illness | 7.3 | 7.4 |
| Proportion with any substance use disorder | 2.4 | 1.9 |
| Proportion with private insurance | 62.5 | 63.1 |
| Proportion with Medicare | 19.8 | 22.3 |
| Proportion with Medicaid | 13.6 | 10.0 |
| Proportion with cash payment | 0.7 | 1.1 |
|
| ||
| Opioid analgesic prescriptions | ||
|
| ||
| Proportion of patient panel with at least one opioid rx | 11.2 | 13.3 |
| Proportion of patient panel with receipt of opioid rx with ≥ 7 days’ supply | 57.1 | 55.4 |
| Proportion of patient panel with receipt of opioid rx with MME ≥ 50 per day | 26.1 | 26.7 |
| Days’ supply of opioid prescriptions, per patient panel prescribed opioids | 13.1 | 12.6 |
| Mean Morphine Equivalent (MME) per day per patient panel prescribed opioids | 42.5 | 42.1 |
Bold indicates P<0.05. Statistical significance was assessed using t-tests comparing states with versus without opioid prescribing cap laws.
CT, NY, ME, NH, PA, VA, RI, DE, UT, NJ, MD, KY (implementation in 2017); HI, IN, AK, VT, LA, OH, NC, NV, AZ, SC, CO, WV (2018);
DC, MN, WY, TX, MT, AL, CA, GA, IA, ID, KS, ND, NE, NM, OR, SD, WI, FL, MI, TN, AR, MO, MS, OK, WA were in the comparison state pool and did not have a cap law during the study period. Of these twelve states ( FL, MI, TN, AR, MO, MS, OK, WA, MN, MT, TX, WY) had implementation dates ≥ July 2018. Two states (IL, MA) were excluded from analyses because implementation dates were prior to 2017.