Researchers Call for More Managed Medicaid Coverage for SUD Treatment

Most state Medicaid programs require managed care plans to cover some common treatments and medications for substance use disorder (SUD), according to a study published this month in Health Affairs. However, Lauren A. Peterson, one of the study’s authors, tells AIS Health, a division of MMIT, it is “concerning” that only half of the states that contract with managed care plans require coverage of all treatments and services recommended by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). 

While Peterson, a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Chicago, acknowledges that “states are really making a commitment to cover [SUD treatments],” she says she and her co-authors agree with ASAM that all SUD treatments should be available.