States’ Adoption of Evidence-Based Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Varies by Medicaid Expansion Status
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Authors
Warner, Mary
Alongi, Jeanne
Macchi, Marti
Manson, Lesley
Cordes, Colleen C.
Macchi, C.R.
Issue Date
2021-04-09
Type
Other
Language
en_US
Keywords
Evidence-based treatment , Medicaid , Opioid use
Alternative Title
Abstract
Between 1998 and 2018, 450,000 Americans have died of overdose from opioid use disorder (OUD). In wake of the pandemic, there was a 42% increase in opioid overdoses in May 2020, compared with May 2019. The annual cost tosociety of prescription drug use disorder is estimated at $74 billion dollars. Despite the significant fiscal and societal burden of this disease, access to evidence-based treatments as outlined Federal Code 42 and the American Societyof Addiction Medicin eremains limited. Of those who sought treatment for OUD in 2016, 38% were covered by Medicaid, while 20% were uninsured. In 2017, there were 2.3 million Americans with OUD, yet there was a 25% decrease in OUD treatment. By 2019, less than 17% of patient diagnosed with OUD received treatment. Given state variation in Medicaid coverage of OUD treatment and the most important barrier to treatment is inadequate insurance coverage, understanding state adoption policies for OUD treatment is crucial to addressing this public health crisis.