Receipt of Disability Benefits and Prescription Opioid Prevalence

Excerpt

The availability of prescription opioids is a key factor in the opioid epidemic, where their misuse can lead to opioid use disorder (OUD). Compared with the general population, persons with disabilities are prescribed medications more frequently¹ and may be more likely to misuse prescriptions.² Temporarily disabled workers may experience longer periods of disability in areas with longer-term opioid prescribing.³ Recipients of social security disability insurance (SSDI) are more likely to have an opioid prescription than the general population.⁴ Among other factors, increased access to health insurance accompanying disability benefits could make recipients more vulnerable to overprescribing of opioids, which in turn could lead to greater incidence of OUD and opioid-related deaths.^{5, 6} …