x
Breaking News
More () »

Medicaid expansion improves access to opioid treatment

Of the 35,000 adults who gained coverage since the January expansion, 10% are receiving opioid treatment.
Credit: John Moore/Getty Images
NORWICH, CT - MARCH 23: Oxycodone pain pills prescribed for a patient with chronic pain lie on display on March 23, 2016 in Norwich, CT. Communities nationwide are struggling with the unprecidented opioid pain pill and heroin addiction epidemic.

PORTLAND, Maine — Medicaid expansion in Maine is starting to improve access to treatments for opioid use disorder.

The state's Medicaid expansion has provided health care coverage to low-income, mostly childless adults, most of whom were previously uninsured.

Of the 35,000 adults who gained coverage since the January expansion, 10% are receiving opioid treatment.

RELATED: Gov. Janet Mills signs executive order to expand Medicaid
RELATED: Mills says health care, opioids, climate change will see action right away

Health care experts have predicted that the expansion will result in 70,000 additional people enrolling in the program by the end of 2019. That would amount to roughly 7,000 additional Medicaid patients receiving opioid treatment.

The Portland Press Herald reports that opioid treatment typically consists of medication that curbs cravings combined with therapy.

But experts say many problems remain, including low Medicaid reimbursement rates for substance use treatments and lack of access to long-term residential treatment programs.

Before You Leave, Check This Out