Health Insurance Instability and Mortality Among Patients Receiving Bup Tx for OUD

October 15, 2024 updated by: Kaiser Permanente

Health Insurance Instability and Mortality Among Patients Receiving Buprenorphine Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder

The goal of this multi-site observational cohort study is to link electronic health records (EHR) with novel data sources to examine insurance instability and its association with all-cause and overdose mortality in adult patients who received medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). The main objectives of the study are:

  • Objective 1. Perform data linkage of a cohort of patients who received MOUD with the National Death Index using a probabilistic algorithm for matching records to ascertain fact and cause of death relative to treatment and insurance status.
  • Objective 2: Assess the association of insurance instability and risk of death, including all-cause mortality and drug- and alcohol-related overdose mortality.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Active, not recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

Amidst the current opioid epidemic, the incidence of opioid use disorder (OUD) has increased and medication-based treatments for opioid use disorder (MOUD) remain underutilized. While long-term MOUD is generally associated with improved health and mortality outcomes, maintaining continuous health insurance coverage is a significant challenge to sustained treatment access. Patients with OUD are likely susceptible to experiencing insurance instability due to volatile employment and variable eligibility for public insurance, which results in frequent plan changes and critical coverage gaps. The economic crisis associated with the current COVID-19 pandemic may result in greater insurance coverage instability and losses, which would leave patients with OUD even more vulnerable. High-risk care transitions and significant disruption of treatment, including discontinuation of OUD treatment, increases risk of relapse, overdose, and mortality. Further, heightened vulnerability to insurance instability among racial/ethnic minorities may contribute to observed disparities in addiction treatment access and retention. Despite the potential for insurance instability to create significant barriers to OUD treatment continuity, current knowledge regarding its health and mortality impacts is limited due to the challenge of capturing and evaluating patient outcomes after disenrollment from health systems.

To address this knowledge gap, this research study will examine the association of health insurance instability and mortality risk among patients receiving buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder in a multi-site cohort study, leveraging data across four diverse health systems in the US.

Findings from the study can inform strategies to ensure treatment continuity and promote well-being for patients vulnerable to insurance instability, from utilizing insurance navigators to establishing standards for bridge prescriptions of MOUD during enrollment transitions, and developing policies to address coverage gaps, such as insurance subsidies for people with OUD using opioid settlement funds. Additionally, as EHR data are increasingly important for pragmatic trials, this study will also advance intervention research by identifying data sources and methods to address bias from loss to follow-up, a common concern across clinical trials.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Observational

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
27257

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Colorado
      • Aurora, Colorado, United States, 80014
        • Kaiser Permanente Colorado

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Sampling Method

Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

We anticipate a study population of >20,000 patients based on preliminary data. There will be no study exclusion criteria based on gender, race, or ethnicity.

Description

The retrospective cohort study will consist of patients 16 years and older who received MOUD between January 1, 2012, through December 31, 2021, with follow-up through December 31, 2022. Evidence of MOUD will be determined by (1) buprenorphine with or without an OUD diagnosis and (2) naltrexone (injectable extended-release (XR) or oral; oral naltrexone is included because it may be prescribed prior to the transition to XR naltrexone) with an OUD diagnosis from pharmacy dispensing or orders data.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort

Group / Cohort

A group or subgroup of participants in an observational study that is assessed for biomedical or health outcomes.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Patients enrolled
Patients who are enrolled on health plans during active MOUD treatment.
Other: No intervention, observational retrospective study
No intervention
Patients who disenrolled
Patients who disenrolled from health plans during active MOUD treatment.
Other: No intervention, observational retrospective study
No intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
All-cause mortality
Time Frame: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022
Death and cause-of-death data from the National Death Index (NDI) will serve as the primary data source for outcomes. Outcome will be identified across follow-up from start of treatment and up to one year after disenrollment from the health system.
January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022
Drug and alcohol-related overdose mortality
Time Frame: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022
Death and cause-of-death data from the National Death Index (NDI) will serve as the primary data source for outcomes. Outcome will be identified across follow-up from start of treatment and up to one year after disenrollment from the health system.
January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Opioid-related overdose
Time Frame: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022
Death and cause-of-death data from the National Death Index (NDI) will serve as the primary data source for outcomes. Outcome will be identified across follow-up from start of treatment and up to one year after disenrollment from the health system.
January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022
Self-harm/suicide mortality
Time Frame: January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022
Death and cause-of-death data from the National Death Index (NDI) will serve as the primary data source for outcomes. Outcome will be identified across follow-up from start of treatment and up to one year after disenrollment from the health system.
January 1, 2012 - December 31, 2022

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Kaiser Permanente

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA)

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Jason M Glanz, PhD, Kaiser Permanente
  • Principal Investigator: Anh P Nguyen, PhD, Kaiser Permanente
  • Principal Investigator: Ingrid A Binswanger, MD, Kaiser Permanente

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
March 29, 2023

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
February 28, 2025

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
February 28, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
July 5, 2023

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
July 5, 2023

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
July 13, 2023

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
October 17, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
October 15, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
October 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • 3UG1DA040314-08S4 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • CTN-0141 (Other Identifier: NIDA)

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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