- Dec 12, 2000
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Republicans claimed Medicaid made the opioid epidemic worse. A new study proves them wrong.
In fact, the study suggests that the Medicaid expansion may be a tool in the fight against the opioid crisis.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-hea.../medicaid-expansion-opioid-epidemic-obamacare
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2696873
The claim: After Obamacare encouraged states to expand Medicaid to include everyone at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (around $16,750 a year for an individual), more people obtained access to opioid painkillers, since they now could get to doctors to prescribe the drugs and had a health plan to pay for the opioids. And that may have led them to addiction or, at the very least, made opioids more available to misuse and sell in illicit markets.
But a new study published in JAMA Network Open put this claim through empirical tests — and the claim failed. In fact, the study found that the Medicaid expansion may help combat the opioid crisis by expanding access to addiction treatment.
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Important note—the American Medical Association study found that the rate of opioid fills per 100,000 did not change statistically, but the % of fills paid for with Medicaid did go up, naturally.
It's important that elected officials understand the difference, and make policy decisions based on empirical evidence.
In fact, the study suggests that the Medicaid expansion may be a tool in the fight against the opioid crisis.
https://www.vox.com/science-and-hea.../medicaid-expansion-opioid-epidemic-obamacare
https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2696873
The claim: After Obamacare encouraged states to expand Medicaid to include everyone at or below 138 percent of the federal poverty level (around $16,750 a year for an individual), more people obtained access to opioid painkillers, since they now could get to doctors to prescribe the drugs and had a health plan to pay for the opioids. And that may have led them to addiction or, at the very least, made opioids more available to misuse and sell in illicit markets.
But a new study published in JAMA Network Open put this claim through empirical tests — and the claim failed. In fact, the study found that the Medicaid expansion may help combat the opioid crisis by expanding access to addiction treatment.
—
Important note—the American Medical Association study found that the rate of opioid fills per 100,000 did not change statistically, but the % of fills paid for with Medicaid did go up, naturally.
It's important that elected officials understand the difference, and make policy decisions based on empirical evidence.
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