Article archive / October 2023
Originally published: . Volume 14, No. 10. Source pages: 4.
More than half a million Medicaid recipients diagnosed with opioid use disorder did not receive medication to treat it in 2021, according to a new report released Friday by the inspector general of the Department of Health and Human Services, DNYUZ and the NY Times said last week.
The inspector general's report examined the use of addiction treatments that almost all Medicaid programs are now required to cover, and found major disparities in medication rates across states, ages and racial groups.
The authors noted, "Nearly 81,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the United States in 2021, an increase of 17 percent from the previous year. Treating opioid use disorder with MOUD [Medications for Opioid Use Disorder] is essential to reducing overdose deaths; however, many individuals in need experience difficulties accessing this potentially life-saving treatment. For example, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) found that fewer than one in five Medicare enrollees with opioid use disorder received MOUD in 2021. Individuals seeking treatment often face barriers such as difficulty finding providers who are authorized and/or willing to prescribe or dispense MOUD and stigma surrounding its use. For example, until recently, only providers with a Federal waiver could prescribe or administer buprenorphine for opioid use disorder in an office setting. Research also suggests that particular demographic groups, such as adolescents or people of certain races, may be less likely to receive MOUD."
The authors said the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, an agency of the Health and Human Services Department, should work to close the gaps.
“Medicaid is uniquely positioned to achieve these goals given that the program is estimated to cover almost 40 percent of nonelderly adults with opioid use disorder,” the report said.
The half-million people who did not receive treatment amounted to about one-third of all Medicaid recipients with opioid use disorder.
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