Buprenorphine Dispensing Following Medicaid Expansion Amid Unwinding in North Carolina.

ABSTRACT:

Importance

The continuous Medicaid enrollment provision adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic ended in March 2023, after which 24 million US residents were disenrolled. Prior studies suggest this "unwinding" was associated with increased discontinuation of buprenorphine, an effective treatment for opioid use disorder. On December 1, 2023, North Carolina expanded Medicaid to low-income adults under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA).

Objective

To evaluate changes in buprenorphine dispensing following North Carolina's Medicaid expansion.

Design, setting, and participants

This cross-sectional study used a difference-in-differences analysis of the IQVIA Longitudinal Prescription Database, which captures 92% of US prescriptions. The analysis was limited to

SUBMITTER: Constantin J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12696594 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature