Blue Cross Unveils Plan Confronting Painkiller Abuse

Prescription pain killers: many of us use them at some point or another, but according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, they're being used more than ever, more than necessary, and more than is legal.

The statistics are unsettling. Opioid prescription sales have increased more than 600 percent in the last decade.

Two million people admitted to using a prescription painkiller non-medically for the first time in the last year, 70 percent of whom obtained the drugs from friends or family, either directly or through purchase or theft.

And prescription painkillers have become the No. 1 cause of unintentional overdose deaths, surpassing cocaine and heroin combined.

In other words, we have a prescription painkiller problem. Sen. John Kerry addressed the issue at a drug summit in Chelsea earlier today. But the state's largest health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield, has unveiled a plan to confront painkiller abuse that gives the insurer a more active role in monitoring a patient's pain medication.

Guests:

More: