(CNN) – Cigna, one of the nation's largest health insurers, has announced that it will stop covering oxycontin next year. Oxycontin is the branded version of the painkiller oxycodone.
Cigna described the move as part of its effort to curb opioid abuse.
With overdose rates rising in recent years, President Donald Trump declared the opioid crisis a national emergency over the summer. Cigna committed in 2016 to cutting opioid use by its customers by 25 percent over a three-year period.
The insurance giant will continue to cover oxycodone alternatives to oxycontin.
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