Medicaid fee-for-service has improved throughout the years when it comes to patients with substance use disorder (SUD) being able to access treatment, according to a new study published in JAMA Network.
Coverage for SUD treatment and opioid use disorder (OUD) medications increased substantially over the study period, which ran from 2014 to 2021. These improvements, authors said, are likely driven by the continued opioid crisis, the concurrent growth in demand for affordable SUD treatment and the mandated expansion of coverage of medications for OUD under the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention That Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act.
As of January 2020, the SUPPORT Act required all Medicaid programs and plans to cover most FDA-approved medications for OUD, with just a few exceptions. It did not, however, prohibit the use of utilization management policies, Healthcare Finance reports.
Researchers said these findings are “highly salient,” given that just 10 states use Medicaid FFS and that state Medicaid FFS programs set the minimum standard for SUD treatment coverage in Medicaid MCO plans. Read more.
