Third of Medicaid Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Don’t Get Treatment

Third of Medicaid Patients With Opioid Use Disorder Don’t Get Treatment

Medications that cut cravings have been shown to help with opioid use disorder, yet nearly a third of Medicaid recipients dealing with opioid addiction aren’t getting them, a new report shows.

There were significant disparities in who gets these medications by age, race and states, according to the report released Friday by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and Medicaid needs to improve access to the treatments.

“Medicaid is uniquely positioned to achieve these goals, given that the program is estimated to cover almost 40% of non-elderly adults with opioid use disorder,” the report said.

The analysis draws from 2021 enrollment, eligibility and claims data. Findings showed that more than a half million people who were covered by Medicaid and had opioid use disorder did not receive medication.