UnitedHealthcare to separately reimburse Pacira's EXPAREL drug

Pacira BioSciences (NASDAQ: PCRX) announced that UnitedHealthcare will now provide separate reimbursement for EXPAREL (bupivacaine liposome injectable suspension) across outpatient settings, including hospital outpatient departments and ambulatory surgery centers.

The change allows EXPAREL to be reimbursed outside of the surgical bundle for eligible UnitedHealthcare members. UnitedHealthcare covers approximately 40 million lives and is the largest health insurer in the United States.

UnitedHealthcare joins a list of national payers that already provide separate reimbursement for EXPAREL, including Aetna, Cigna, TRICARE, and Humana, as well as numerous regional plans. According to the company, approximately 150 million covered lives now have access to separate reimbursement for EXPAREL, representing roughly half of all medical lives in the U.S.

"While adoption will build over time, this milestone with UnitedHealthcare reflects important momentum towards expanding access to non-opioid pain management for patients across the country," said Frank D. Lee, chief executive officer of Pacira BioSciences.

Pacira noted that expanded Medicare reimbursement through the implementation of the NOPAIN Act, combined with commercial payer policies over the past year, has contributed to a broader reimbursement environment for EXPAREL.

EXPAREL is indicated to produce postsurgical local analgesia via infiltration in patients aged 6 years and older, and postsurgical regional analgesia via select nerve blocks in adults.

You May Also Be Interested In

• System1 launches Dogpile Fetch, a search API for AI agents
• Voya Financial renews Honolulu retirement plan contract for 5 years
• Greenland Mines adopts one-year stockholder rights plan