Issue Briefs | Mar 16, 2018

Medicaid: The Linchpin in State Strategies to Prevent and Address Opioid Use Disorders

April Grady, Patricia Boozang, Deborah Bachrach, Adam Striar, and Kevin McAvey, Manatt Health

The nation’s opioid epidemic claimed more than 42,000 lives in 2016, and more than 2 million people in the United States have an opioid use disorder (OUD). Yet, only 1 in 5 people suffering from an OUD receive treatment. The federal government has responded to the crisis by declaring a public health emergency and making over $500 million of OUD-targeted funding available to states last year. While critical, these dollars (and the programs they fund) pale in comparison to the scale and scope of resources the Medicaid program brings to states to combat the opioid epidemic and other substance use disorders (SUD). Indeed, today, Medicaid covers more than 1 in 3 people with an OUD, and program spending for people with an OUD in 2013 (before Medicaid expansion in many states) was more than $9 billion. In this issue brief, data from three states—New Hampshire, Ohio and West Virginia—highlight Medicaid’s role as the linchpin in states’ efforts to combat the opioid epidemic.

The State Health Policy Highlights, View from the States: the Role of Medicaid in Preventing and Addressing Opioid Use Disorders provides an overview on the role of Medicaid in supporting state efforts to address the opioid epidemic.


Expert Perspectives

February 1, 2023

CMS Approves First-in-Nation Justice-Involved Re-Entry Section 1115 Demonstration

On January 26, 2023, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services approved California’s request to amend the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal Section 1115 demonstration. This expert perspective describes the amendment, a centerpiece of which is approval for California Medicaid to provide a targeted set of Medicaid services to youth and adults in state prisons, county jails, and youth correctional facilities for up to 90 days prior to release. By providing re-entry services to Medicaid-enrolled individuals who are incarcerated, California aims to build a bridge to community-based care for justice-involved enrollees, offering them services to stabilize their physical and behavioral health conditions and establishing, prior to release, a re-entry plan for their community-based care.

January 27, 2023

Federal Ruling Provides Text Messaging Flexibility to Support State’s Unwinding Efforts

On January 23, 2023, the Federal Communications Commission issued an important ruling that provides states with new flexibility to support enrollee outreach and communication efforts as part of their processes to unwind the Medicaid continuous coverage requirement. The ruling permits state agencies and their partners to send text messages and make phone calls to individuals about enrollment-related issues not only for Medicaid but for other state-run health insurance programs, including marketplace coverage. This expert perspective reviews the ruling and implications for states.