The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act of 2016 (CARA, P.L. 114-198) permitted nurse practitioners and physician assistants to apply for buprenorphine prescribing waivers for treating opioid use disorder (OUD). Previously, under the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000 (DATA 2000, P.L. 106-310), only qualified physicians could obtain DATA 2000 waivers.
MACPAC contracted with IMPAQ International to examine changes in buprenorphine prescribing patterns among nurse practitioners and physician assistants following federal legislative expansion of prescribing authority. We found that the number of buprenorphine prescriptions increased during the study period for all payers, particularly for the Medicaid population. While physicians accounted for the majority of buprenorphine prescribers, the proportion of prescribers who were advanced practitioners increased substantially during the study period, suggesting that expanded prescribing authority led to an increase in prescriptions for OUD treatment.
This presentation details the key findings of this study.