PEIA DIRECTOR SAYS OXYCONTIN ON DECLINE

Director Says Costs Of Drug Likely To Go Down Further

Friday July 06, 2001; 11:00 AM OxyContin spending by the Public Employees
Insurance Agency has already peaked and is on the decline, agency Director
Tom Susman said.

"I would suspect that the drug is going to go down even further," Susman said.

PEIA spent 38 percent more on OxyContin in the first 11 months of the
2000-2001 fiscal year than it did in all of the 1999-2000 fiscal year. But
monthly data from PEIA shows that spending on the drug has declined since
December.

Law enforcement and drug rehabilitation professionals say the drug is
widely abused. Many in the medical profession praise its qualities as a
time release painkiller.

PEIA spent $26,313 on OxyContin during July 1999. During December 2000, the
cost was up to $80,937. But by May 2001, the cost had dropped to $71,783.

The trends on the number of prescriptions and number of patients were similar.

Susman attributes the increase in costs in part to overzealous drug company
salespeople. He said his agency has worked to educate the doctors and other
service providers it works with.

"I think they understand what the drug is to be used for," Susman said
Thursday.

Susman said a program PEIA put into effect earlier this year to watch for
possible OxyContin abusers among its members also has contributed to the
decline.

Susman said on PEIA's list of drugs it spends the most on, OxyContin didn't
even make the top 25. The state Medicaid program and the Workers'
Compensation Division have both ranked the drug in their top five.

Delegate Mary Pearl Compton, D-Monroe, chairwoman of the house committee on
health and human resources, has said the state should look into its
OxyContin costs. But lawmakers and state officials say that, though the
drug is making the news for being abused, it is very good when used for its
intended purpose.