New Findings from Yale School of Public Health in the Area of Opioids Published (Access to Treatment Before and After Medicare Coverage of Opioid Treatment Programs).

A recent study conducted by the Yale School of Public Health examined the impact of Medicare coverage on access to opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and ancillary services. The study found that since January 2020, Medicare has covered OUD treatment services at OTPs, leading to a significant increase in Medicare acceptance from 21.31% in 2018 to 80.76% in 2021. However, while county-level access to OTPs improved overall, counties with higher rates of nonwhite residents experienced a greater increase in Medicare-accepting OTPs. The study concluded that Medicare coverage was associated with improved OTP access, but not with ancillary services. [Extracted from the article]