Medicaid Coverage of Effective Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder: Trends in State Buprenorphine Prescriptions and Spending Since 2011

For people with opioid use disorder, a buprenorphine prescription can improve outcomes related to staying in drug treatment, involvement in the justice system, and mortality. This Urban Institute Report analyzes how the Medicaid expansion under the Affordable Care Act affected access to buprenorphine among low-income individuals. For the 32 states that expanded Medicaid, the number of buprenorphine prescriptions per enrollee increased 70%. However, this increase may still not meet the demand for buprenorphine due to persistent capacity shortages. The report also includes state-by-state data on total Medicaid spending on buprenorphine.