Many buprenorphine prescribers don't take Medicaid or uninsured patients

Abstract

In a survey in which callers seeking buprenorphine treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) posed as patients with either Medicaid or no insurance, researchers found that few were offered an appointment with the possibility of buprenorphine induction at the first visit. The calls were conducted in Massachusetts, Maryland, New Hampshire, West Virginia, Ohio and the District of Columbia, all of which have a high burden of OUD. The callers found that out of 546 clinicians on the buprenorphine prescriber database maintained by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), new appointments were offered to 54% of Medicaid callers and 62% of uninsured (meaning cash‐paying) patients, but that only 27% of Medicaid and 41% of uninsured callers had a possibility of buprenorphine treatment, and not all would get it right away. In fact, the median wait time for the first appointment was six days.