Cascade of Care for Opioid Use Disorder Among Medicaid Beneficiaries

How did opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment of Medicaid beneficiaries change from 2018 to 2023?In this cross-sectional study of 126 430 422 Medicaid beneficiary-year observations, the percentage of Medicaid beneficiaries diagnosed with OUD declined from 4.2% to 3.6%; of those, the percentage receiving medication increased from 60.0% to 69.1%; and of those, the percentage continuing to receive medication for at least 180 days decreased from 62.6% to 57.7%. The percentage of beneficiaries with OUD with an OUD-related hospitalization or emergency department visit decreased from 10.9% to 10.6%.These findings suggest that Medicaid programs are making progress in addressing OUD.

Corresponding Author: Tami L. Mark, PhD, RTI International, 3040 E Cornwallis Rd, Durham, NC 27709 (tmark@rti.org).

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