State Medicaid programs are on the front lines of addressing the opioid crisis, expanding access to evidence-based treatment. Data on Medicaid-covered prescription fills for medications used to treat opioid use disorder can illuminate whether states are meaningfully increasing access to these medications and how trends change over time.
This tool tracks national- and state-level data on two types of medications used to treat opioid use disorder (buprenorphine and naltrexone) and one medication used to treat opioid overdoses (naloxone). As new quarterly data are released, we will update these data to show both long-term trends and up-to-date Medicaid prescription fill patterns. We will also publish new analyses tracking changes in Medicaid prescription fill patterns, emerging state and national trends, and policy implications.
For more information, contact Lisa Clemans-Cope at [email protected].
ABOUT THE DATA
We use information on Medicaid-covered outpatient prescription fills for buprenorphine, naltrexone, and naloxone from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data. We identify buprenorphine medications (including buprenorphine/naloxone combination medications) that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved for treating opioid use disorder and naltrexone medications that are FDA-approved for blocking the effects of opioids. (Naltrexone medications are also FDA-approved to treat alcohol dependence, but the dataset cannot distinguish between different uses.) We include naloxone medications when the FDA’s primary indication of use is to reverse an opioid overdose. We focus on the number of prescription fills for each of the three medication types, which can be examined across generic and brand-name categories. The data will be updated quarterly and are subject to revisions, exclusions, and limitations.
View an earlier version of this tool to see these data for 2010 through 2020.
Learn more about the Urban Institute’s work on behavioral health.
PROJECT CREDITS
This data tool was funded by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts (FORE). We are grateful to them and to all our funders, who make it possible for Urban to advance its mission. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of our experts.
RESEARCH Lisa Clemans-Cope and Maya Payton
DEVELOPMENT Rachel Marconi and Lydia Nguyen
EDITING Sarah LaCorte and Rachel Kenney
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