The federal health authorities reported Thursday that nearly one third of women of reproductive age had had an opioid painkiller prescription filled every year between 2008 and 2012. Experts said the practice carried considerable risks for birth defects.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention analyzed health insurance claims data from Medicaid and private insurers for women ages 15 to 55 and found that an average of 39 percent of women on Medicaid filled an opioid prescription in a pharmacy each year from 2008 to 2012 compared with 28 percent of women with private insurance.
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Prescriptions were highest in 2009, the study found, with 29 percent of privately insured women filling a prescription and 41 percent of women with Medicaid coverage filling one.
The most intense prescribing skewed older. Among Medicaid beneficiaries, those 40 to 44 had the highest prescription rates and among privately insured women, the highest rates were among those 30 to 34. In both groups, women ages 15 to 19 were least likely to fill an opioid prescription.
