Most states spend federal opioid money primarily on outpatient medication-assisted treatment. In 2017, that meant treatment for nearly 7,000 South Carolina patients with an opioid addiction, about a thousand more than in 2016. Medicaid expenditures for opioid treatment grew by 19 percent a year between 2011 and 2016, researchers at the Urban Institute found. “It’s the cheapest and most effective treatment available.”With increased insurance coverage, the number of people receiving specialized addiction treatment has grown in the last decade. Still, the percentage of people with an opioid addiction who receive drug treatment has remained lower than for any other chronic diseases, according to the agency.

Source: Huffington Post January 31, 2019 17:37 UTC