Medicaid Expansion Boosts Access To Opioid Use Disorder Treatment

Medicaid plays a cardinal domiciled for giving group pinch opioid-use upset entree to treatment, according to a Rutgers Health study.

Progress successful life-saving curen for opioid-use upset pinch nan medicine has stalled successful nan past respective years, according to a Rutgers Health study. However, researchers added that while immoderate states were capable to execute important improvement, others mislaid ground. 

Specifically, states that person expanded entree to Medicaid security sum since 2018 saw increases successful prescriptions for opioid-use upset treatment, according to nan study, while states that haven't expanded Medicaid knowledgeable declining curen rates aft 2022. 

Researchers recovered that authorities Medicaid policies were cardinal drivers of population-level curen rates.

The study, published successful Health Affairs, examined trends successful nationalist unit drugstore claims by Medicaid, Medicare and backstage security crossed states betwixt 2018 and 2024, a play of rising fatal overdose rates and nationalist argumentation changes aimed astatine expanding treatment. Researchers compared nan claims pinch authorities populations and overdose rates to measure nan effect of Medicaid eligibility connected curen uptake.

We were impressed by nan occurrence stories successful immoderate states, specified arsenic those pinch caller eligibility description s. Several of these states, for illustration Virginia, Utah and Missouri, doubled aliases tripled Medicaid-paid prescribing, driving beardown population-level improvement. These successes constituent to opportunities for betterment moreover erstwhile nan wide nationalist complaint of advancement is disappointing. Nevertheless, wide disparities betwixt states remained, arsenic shown successful maps and authorities comparison tables successful nan insubstantial and its appendix." 

Stephen Crystal, Director of nan Rutgers Center for Health Services Research astatine the Institute for Health, Health Care Policy and Aging Research

Despite nan readiness of effective treatments for opioid-use disorder, more than 80,000 died successful 2024from opioid-use overdoses. In summation to nan illness of addiction, location are a number of argumentation and financial barriers preventing group from accessing medication, nan researchers said. The national authorities declared an opioid nationalist wellness emergency successful 2017 and again successful 2025. 

Because group pinch opioid-use upset thin to beryllium low-income azygous adults, Medicaid is nan astir important payer for buprenorphine, a highly effective medicine utilized to dainty opioid-use disorder. However, Medicaid policies covering opioid-use upset curen alteration authorities to state, resulting successful vastly different uptake of treatments that tin dramatically little nan consequence of overdose and support recovery. New Jersey is among nan states that person implemented important initiatives that person aided entree to Medicaid-paid treatment, including Medicaid description , elimination of buprenorphine anterior authorization, and accrued reimbursement for treatment, pinch improvements successful Medicaid and all-payer buprenorphine prescribing during nan study period.

The nationalist study led by Crystal, who is simply a Distinguished Research Professor astatine nan Rutgers School of Social Work, showed divers state-level trends that often pointed to nan value of Medicaid. 

States that precocious expanded nan eligibility criteria to suffice for Medicaid security knowledgeable a 27.3% summation successful buprenorphine prescribing rates. But successful states that didn't grow Medicaid, wide prescribing lagged, pinch declines aft 2022. 

Researchers said expanding Medicaid eligibility and minimizing disenrollment from Medicaid during eligibility redeterminations are captious steps successful expanding entree to opioid-use upset curen crossed nan country.

"Translating grounds into accordant believe has been uneven crossed nan state for aggregate reasons, including nan stigma surrounding group pinch addiction," said Crystal. "But advancement is imaginable erstwhile states return action to thief residents entree and spend effective medication. Maintaining nan advancement that has been made successful opioid-use upset curen done authorities Medicaid policies will beryllium challenging nether nan financial pressures created by caller national legislation, but it is captious successful maintaining advancement connected preventing overdoses and supporting recovery."

Coauthors of nan study see Fangzhou Xie, Hillary Samples, Elizabeth Stone and Jennifer Miles of Rutgers; Allen Campbell of nan IQVIA Institute, Peter Treitler of Boston University; and Sumedha Gupta and Kosali I. Simon of Indiana University.

Crystal will talk nan investigation during nan Health Affairs Health Policy Briefing focused connected nan opioid situation connected Sept. 3 and successful an upcoming Health Affairs Health Podyssey podcast episode.