Changes In County-Level Access To Medications For Opioid Use Disorder After Medicare Coverage Of Methadone Treatment Began.

ABSTRACT: In 2020 Medicare began reimbursing for opioid treatment program (OTP) services, including methadone maintenance treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD), for the first time. Methadone is highly effective for OUD, yet its availability is restricted to OTPs. We used 2021 data from the National Directory of Drug and Alcohol Abuse Treatment Facilities to examine county-level factors associated with OTPs accepting Medicare. In 2021, 16.3 percent of counties had at least one OTP that accepted Medicare. In 124 counties the OTP was the only specialty treatment facility offering any form of medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Regression results showed that the odds of a county having an OTP that accepted Medicare were lower for counties with higher versus lower percentages of rural residents

SUBMITTER: Harris SJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11332379 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature