State and Local Policy Levers for Increasing Treatment and Recovery Capacity to Address the Opioid Epidemic: Final Report

The continuing opioid crisis is a major public health issue, and it extends across the domains of public assistance programs and workforce development as well. This report by the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reviews the medication-assisted treatment initiatives that five case study states have undertaken to identify effective practices in offering and expanding treatment. In addition, the authors discuss financing and workforce policies from which policymakers can draw. Potentially effective “policy levers” across states include expanding Medicaid services for medical treatment, using targeted grant funds, creating hubs of care, and instituting stigma-reducing programs.