Kirsch M, Montgomery JR, Hu HM, et al. - In view of the observed influence of models of health care coverage with varying degrees of patient cost-sharing on health care behaviors for chronic conditions including medication adherence, researchers sought to determine the effect of insurance cost-sharing subsidies on the probability of postoperative opioid refill. For this retrospective cohort study, they investigated 100% Medicare claims data among patients ( N = 21,781) ages 65 and older undergoing orthopedic procedures in Michigan between January 2013 and September 2016 and classified the patients based on the presence of low-income subsidy and on prior opioid exposure using Medicare Part D prescription files of drug events. In the assessed cohort, an initial opioid prescription was filled in 84.6% of patients, and an opioid prescription was refilled in 66.4%. Observations revealed an increased probability of opioid refill in correlation with a full medication subsidy, vs no subsidy, among Medicare patients undergoing orthopedic procedures. Based on findings, they emphasize lessening financial barriers to ensure all patients have equitable access to postoperative analgesia, including both opioid and nonopioid analgesics by reducing the patient burden of cost-sharing.