Email UpdatesThe Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recently released a new report, Medicaid Coverage of Medications to Reverse Opioid Overdose and Treat Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders. This report provides an update on the present state of coverage within state Medicaid plans for availability of, and access to, medications for treating ongoing alcohol use disorder (AUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD) and reversing an opioid overdose. It also includes examples of innovative efforts to increase access to medications for the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs).
SAMHSA conducted a webinar on January 31, 2024, to coincide with the release of this report, discussing how to improve behavioral healthcare by understanding the financing of behavioral health care to identify opportunities and challenges to service delivery and access to care. See the “What’s New” section of the Center for Financing Reform & Innovation (CFRI) web page to see the webinar recording and slides.
The report and webinar provide an update on the present state of coverage and availability of these treatments to Medicaid beneficiaries. They also include examples of innovative efforts to increase access to medications for the treatment of SUDs. This work builds on two prior SAMHSA reports - Medicaid Coverage of Medication-Assisted Treatment for Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders and of Medication for the Reversal of Opioid Overdose (2018) and Medicaid Coverage and Financing of Medications to Treat Alcohol and Opioid Use Disorders (2014).
Additional finance and payment resources can be found in the Integration Academy’s Substance Use and Unhealthy Alcohol Use Tools & Resources Collections, as well as the Literature Collection.