The challenges of SUD can be exacerbated by factors like compounding physical health needs and social circumstances that pose barriers to treatment. Supporting individuals with SUD and increasing access to treatment that is responsive to these needs requires innovative state policy approaches.
State and Federal Policy Actions to Increase Access to Medications for Opioid Use Disorder
February 10, 2022
States are beginning to receive lump sums of money from settlement agreements with pharmaceutical companies and other parties — and making decisions about how they will use these funds. Explore state legislation related to opioid settlement funds in this new interactive map.
November 19, 2021
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government gave states the flexibility to prescribe MOUD via telehealth to maximize access to these medications. This map provides a snapshot of current state telehealth policies for prescribing medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD).
Several states have enacted or proposed legislation to decriminalize controlled substances in response to record high overdose rates. Emerging themes from legislation indicate state interest in reinvesting resources into substance use disorder treatment.
Despite the rate of opioid use remaining higher among White Americans, Black Americans have experienced the steepest increase in opioid-related overdoses among all groups in recent years. In response, the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office directed $1.5 million in grant funding to community organizations to address inequities in access to MOUD.
After halting last-minute regulatory guidance from the Trump administration in January 2021 on prescribing buprenorphine for opioid use disorder (OUD), the Department of Health and Human services released new prescribing guidelines on April 27, 2021. The new guidance allows physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, clinical nurse specialists, certified registered nurse anesthetists, and certified nurse midwives to prescribe buprenorphine to up to 30 patients without completing a previously required training. States may need to revise regulations, trainings, and other guidance to providers in order to align to this federal change.
Opioid Use Disorder, Maternal Mortality, and Families
Among the impacts of the ongoing substance use disorder (SUD) epidemic is an increased rate of infants being born with a set of withdrawal-related symptoms called Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Multiple state agencies are involved in tracking NAS data on diagnoses, costs of care, and services for parents who may need SUD treatment intervention, and sharing this data can be challenging. Using various data sharing and cross-agency approaches, states are using these data sets to develop policy for prevention and treatment.
September 16, 2021
This webinar explores two unique state approaches to data NAS data collection, analysis, and cross-agency data linkage, and how states leverage these data to inform better policy and improve health outcomes for both parents and infants.
To reduce substance use as a key cause of children removed from their homes, Maryland implemented a Family Recovery Court program that connects parents to intensive treatment for substance use disorder (SUD) and provides case management and incentives. Over a one-year period, the program produced a 25 percent higher reunification rate, reduced days that children spend in non-kinship foster care (252 vs. 346), and produced more than $1 million in savings for the state’s child protective system.
Supporting the SUD Workforce
December 13, 2021
With rates of substance use, stress, and suicidal ideation on the rise — particularly in Black and Latinx populations — policymakers are exploring ways to increase capacity and diversity in the behavioral health workforce. This brief highlights programs and policies to address disparities in the behavioral health workforce, including using data to understand workforce needs and leveraging new and emerging funding opportunities.