Fewer than half of Medicaid managed care plans cover all four FDA-approved treatments for alcohol use disorder, a study published March 13 in JAMA Network Open found.
Medicaid-managed care plans are the largest payer of addiction treatment services, according to the study. Researchers examined coverage data for 241 Medicaid-managed care plans.
Nine in 10 plans covered at least one medication for alcohol use disorder, while just four in 10 covered all four approved medications. Plans rarely applied prior authorization and quantity limits, except for injectable naltrexone.
Each medication for AUD has different side effects, schedules and methods of dosing, the researchers wrote. Covering all forms of medication treatment may support enrollees in choosing the medication that works best for them and that they will adhere to.
Efforts to expand medication treatment “may experience challenges due to coverage and utilization management policies,” the researchers wrote.
“Coverage is a necessary first step to address low [medication] use rates; it will not be sufficient alone. An approach confronting stigma and patient and clinician knowledge and beliefs about [medication] is necessary to bring attention to the growing AUD public health crisis,” the researchers wrote.
The study was read by researchers at the Institute for Behavioral Health in the Heller School for Social Policy and Management at Waltham, Mass.-based Brandeis University.
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