No state in America has been spared the ravages of the opioid epidemic, but new research reveals the striking differences in how different states have tried to address the problem.
The study by Advocates for Opioid Recovery showed that some states have enthusiastically embraced the use of buprenorphine in treating opioid dependence. Others have almost completely resisted its use.
In Vermont, for instance, more than two-thirds of all prescriptions for buprenorphine were paid for by Medicaid. In Mississippi, only 4 percent of such prescriptions were funded by Medicaid.
In general, states throughout the South and Great Plains were less likely to fund buprenorphine than states in the Northeast and West. With a few notable exceptions, Medicaid programs in Democratic states were more inclined to provide the medication than those controlled by the GOP.
In the wake of rising public concern about opioid addiction, Congress approved legislation in July that raised the number of patients doctors are allowed to prescribe buprenorphine to from 30 to 100, as well as authorized nurse practitioners and physician assistants to prescribe the drug, which is considered by treatment advocates to be a critical component of battling addiction.
"Even in the best of circumstances, obtaining access to opioid recovery programs that include medication is tough," Van Jones, an AOR adviser, said in a statement. "For the most vulnerable in our country who rely on Medicaid, this data proves it is nearly impossible in many states.”
Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., who went public during his time in Congress with his own struggles with alcohol and drug abuse, went further, arguing that the apparent refusal of many states to provide medication is a violation of a 2008 mental health parity law that he authored.
"That was certainly my intention when I introduced the bill in the House,” he explained in a press release accompanying the study’s release. “If that is not a violation, I'm not sure what is."
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