Continuum of Care for Opioid Use Disorder in Medicaid Recipients - Takeaways - MDSpire

Continuum of Care for Opioid Use Disorder in Medicaid Recipients

  • By

  • Thanh T. Lu

  • William N. Dowd

  • Tami L. Mark

  • Marianne Kluckman

  • Barrett Wallace Montgomery

  • Chelsea Katz

  • Dylan E. DeLisle

  • Gary A. Zarkin

  • April 22, 2026

  • 0 min

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  • 1

    Opioid overdoses remain a leading cause of preventable death in the US, with 73,690 fatalities reported in the year ending April 2025.

  • 2

    Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) can reduce overdose death rates by 50%, especially with sustained treatment.

  • 3

    Medicaid beneficiaries, despite being 25% of the US population, accounted for 48% of overdose deaths in 2020.

  • 4

    In 2022, 71% of Medicaid beneficiaries diagnosed with opioid use disorder received MOUD, up from 55% in 2016-2018.

  • 5

    The study utilized national Medicaid claims data from 2018 to 2023 to analyze OUD diagnosis and treatment metrics.

Original Source(s)

Continuum of Care for Opioid Use Disorder in Medicaid Recipients

  • by Thanh T. Lu, William N. Dowd, Tami L. Mark, Marianne Kluckman, Barrett Wallace Montgomery, Chelsea Katz, Dylan E. DeLisle, Gary A. Zarkin

  • April 22, 2026

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