To control the opioid crisis, states are developing programs within the health care system to fight opioid use disorder (OUD) by increasing both the access to and quality of available treatment for those afflicted.
Because of the acute evolution of the crisis, states have focused a significant amount of research on ways to limit the supply, illegitimate use and harmful effects of both prescription and outlawed opioids. Many of those limiting strategies have received considerable attention and are well-known. But some states, through their own policy decisions, have made notable changes that affect how OUD can be treated, and those changes have garnered significantly less publicity.
States have begun to implement three strategies that will increase the quality of treatment available for patients suffering from OUD and also make the treatment more accessible. The first plan centers on increasing both insurance coverage for the disorder and payments for treating it. The most well-known of the three plans, it is implemented by a state loosening Medicaid enrollment eligibility requirements; broadening Medicaid benefits to include buprenorphine and other non-pharmacological treatments; and activating reimbursement codes for OUD screening, referrals, and interventions.
The second strategy involves increasing patient access to OUD treatment by expanding the state's residential treatment capacity. Federal grants and Medicaid waivers can give the state the ability to treat OUD patients in residential facilities that specialize in mental health issues. The state can also boost its treatment capacity by encouraging health care providers to get Drug Enforcement Administration waivers so that they can legally administer buprenorphine to OUD patients.
The third strategy employs several measures typically funded through the Affordable Care Act to create comprehensive and unified treatment networks that connect a patient's specialty treatment program with his or her primary care and case management information. This makes all pertinent data viewable at once, providing greater efficiency and accuracy of overall patient care.
By exploiting the power of information technology and integrating alternate methods of payment for treatment services, states are able to foster better and more complete care management to patients suffering from OUD. Though the transition is slow and generally not in the public view, these strategies could make a profound difference in health care going forward.
The full report can be viewed here.
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