People who qualify for Medicare due to disability account for most opioid-related deaths

(University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston) New findings from The University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston found that Medicare beneficiaries who qualify because of a disability are a growing group of patients hospitalized for opioid or heroin overdose and account for 25 percent of deaths from prescription opioid overdose each year. Previous research shows that not many of these patients make use of opioid treatment programs.