This paper uses the all-payer claims database (APCD) for Rhode Island to study three questions about the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD): (1) Does MAT reduce the risk of opioid overdose; (2) are there systematic differences in the uptake of MAT by observable patient-level characteristics; and (3) how successful were federal policy changes implemented in 2016 that sought to promote increased use of buprenorphine, one of three medication options within MAT? Regarding the first question, we find that MAT as practiced in Rhode Island is associated with a reduced risk of repeated opioid overdose among patients who had an initial nonfatal opioid overdose, consistent with the strong endorsement of MAT by public health officials. Concerning the second, we find that factors such as age, gender, health insurance payer, and the poverty rate in one's residential Zip code are associated with significant differences in the chance of receiving methadone and/or buprenorphine, suggesting that certain groups may face unwarranted disparities in access to MAT. About the third question, we find that a 2016 federal rule change enabled at least some experienced Rhode Island buprenorphine prescribers to reach more patients, and a separate 2016 policy aimed at recruiting new buprenorphine prescribers was also found to be effective. However, the data also suggest that many more patients in the state could be treated with buprenorphine if prescribers took full advantage of their prescribing limits.

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This article uses the all-payer claims database for the state of Rhode Island to assess recent progress in the state toward the goal of expanding access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD). The analysis highlights the role played by the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and the associated Medicaid expansion in furthering that goal. Using measures that account for changes in health insurance enrollment, we find that the MAT rate per 100,000 enrollees in Rhode Island effectively doubled between 2012 and 2018, while the prevalence of OUD in the sample also doubled over the same period. Taken at face value, it would appear that the growth in the MAT rate over the period was just sufficient to meet the increased need for treatment. However, when we analyze the trends in MAT rates and OUD rates separately for Medicaid enrollees and non-Medicaid enrollees, the progress in treating OUD patients with MAT seems to have been much greater for the Medicaid population. In terms of raw numbers, the largest single-year gain in the number of patients receiving MAT occurred in 2014, the year when the ACA and Medicaid expansion went into effect. Among the first-time enrollees of 2014 who received MAT, over 80 percent were Medicaid enrollees, and those individuals accounted for more than one-third of the overall increase in MAT patients from the previous year. The analysis also suggests that expanded uptake of MAT may have contributed to the decline in opioid-related mortality in Rhode Island that occurred between 2016 and 2018, although more recent (preliminary) evidence suggests that Rhode Island as well as the rest of the country saw a resurgence in opioid-related mortality in 2020.

This paper uses the all-payer claims database (APCD) for Rhode Island to study three questions about the use of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) for opioid use disorder (OUD): (1) Does MAT reduce the risk of opioid overdose; (2) are there systematic differences in the uptake of MAT by observable patient-level characteristics; and (3) how successful were federal policy changes implemented in 2016 that sought to promote increased use of buprenorphine, one of three medication options within MAT? Regarding the first question, we find that MAT as practiced in Rhode Island is associated with a reduced risk of repeated opioid overdose among patients who had an initial nonfatal opioid overdose, consistent with the strong endorsement of MAT by public health officials. Concerning the second, we find that factors such as age, gender, health insurance payer, and the poverty rate in one's residential Zip code are associated with significant differences in the chance of receiving methadone and/or buprenorphine, suggesting that certain groups may face unwarranted disparities in access to MAT. About the third question, we find that a 2016 federal rule change enabled at least some experienced Rhode Island buprenorphine prescribers to reach more patients, and a separate 2016 policy aimed at recruiting new buprenorphine prescribers was also found to be effective. However, the data also suggest that many more patients in the state could be treated with buprenorphine if prescribers took full advantage of their prescribing limits.