Medicaid plays an important role in facilitating access to treatment for the estimated 1.9 million beneficiaries with opioid use disorder (OUD). Federal law requires state Medicaid programs to cover all three forms of medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD): methadone, buprenorphine, and extended-release injectable naltrexone. These medications are the standard of care for OUD, yet they remain underused.
This session provided information about the use of MOUD among Medicaid beneficiaries based on an analysis of Transformed Medicaid Statistical Information System (T-MSIS) data from fiscal years 2017-2022. Staff presented national and state-level estimates of MOUD use, highlighted variations in the receipt of MOUD among beneficiaries by demographic and health-related characteristics, and discussed how the MOUD benefit mandate affected MOUD use in states that did not previously cover methadone.
