Opioid use disorders (OUDs) are receiving significant attention in the U.S. as a public health crisis. Access to treatment for OUDs is essential and was expected to improve following implementation of the federal parity law and the Affordable Care Act. This study examines changes in coverage and management of treatments for OUDs (opioid treatment programs (OTPs) as a covered service benefit, buprenorphine as a pharmacy benefit) before, during, and after parity and ACA implementation. Data are from three rounds of a nationally representative survey conducted with commercial health plans regarding behavioral health services in benefit years 2003, 2010, and 2014. Data were weighted to be representative of health plans' commercial products in the continental United States (2003 weighted N = 7,469, 83% response rate; 2010 N = 8,431, 89% response rate; and 2014 N = 6,974, 80% response rate). Results showed treatment for OUDs was covered by nearly all health plan products in each year of the survey, but the types and patterns varied by year. Prior authorization requirements for OTPs have decreased over time. Despite the promise of expanded access to OUD treatment suggested by parity and the ACA, improved health plan coverage for treatment of OUDs, while essential, is not sufficient to address the opioid crisis.
Pharmacology, Toxicology and Pharmaceutical Science
1
3%
Other
5
13%
Unknown
13
33%
Attention Score in Context
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 3. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 28 April 2023.
All research outputs
#10,765,678
of 31,153,592 outputs
Outputs from Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
#636
of 1,180 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#134,786
of 336,292 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Journal of Psychoactive Drugs
#9
of 15 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 31,153,592 research outputs across all sources so far. This one is in the 39th percentile – i.e., 39% of other outputs scored the same or lower than it.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,180 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 18.0. This one is in the 25th percentile – i.e., 25% of its peers scored the same or lower than it.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 15 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one is in the 40th percentile – i.e., 40% of its contemporaries scored the same or lower than it.
