title: Medicaid Coverage for Methadone Maintenance and Use of Opioid Agonist Therapy in Specialty Addiction Treatment.
abstract: This study examined differences in opioid agonist therapy (OAT) utilization among Medicaid-enrolled adults receiving public-sector opioid use disorder treatment in states with Medicaid coverage of methadone maintenance, states with block grant funding only, and states without public coverage of methadone.
  
  
  
  Person-level treatment admission data, which included information on reason for treatment and use of OAT from 36 states were linked to state-level Medicaid policies collected in a 50-state survey. Probabilities of OAT use among Medicaid enrollees in opioid addiction treatment were calculated, with adjustment for demographic characteristics and patterns of substance use.
  
  
  
  In adjusted analysis, 45.0% of Medicaid-enrolled individuals in opioid addiction treatment in states with Medicaid coverage for methadone maintenance used OAT, compared with 30.1% in states with block grant coverage only and 17.0% in states with no coverage. Differences were widest in nonintensive outpatient settings.
  
  
  
  Medicaid methadone maintenance coverage is critical for encouraging OAT among individuals with opioid use disorders.
authors.affiliation: Dr. Saloner and Dr. Barry are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: bsaloner@jhu.edu ). Dr. Stoller is with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Brendan
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Saloner
authors.affiliation: Dr. Saloner and Dr. Barry are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: bsaloner@jhu.edu ). Dr. Stoller is with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Kenneth B
authors.initials: KB
authors.lastname: Stoller
authors.affiliation: Dr. Saloner and Dr. Barry are with the Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore (e-mail: bsaloner@jhu.edu ). Dr. Stoller is with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore.
authors.forename: Colleen L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Barry
mesh_terms: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid / Q000191:economics; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D008484:Medicaid / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008691:Methadone / Q000191:economics* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D058850:Opiate Substitution Treatment / Q000191:economics*; D009293:Opioid-Related Disorders / Q000191:economics* / Q000534:rehabilitation*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States
chemical_list: D000701:Analgesics, Opioid; D008691:Methadone