For Release
MondaySeptember 29, 2025
The end of pandemic-era enrollment enhancements for Medicaid was associated with a rise in the number of people ending medication treatment for opioid use disorder, as well as a decrease in the number of people beginning such treatment, according to a new RAND study.
While some people who disenrolled from Medicaid may have found other methods to pay for drug treatment, the overall number of those initiating and continuing medication treatment for opioid use disorder declined in the six months after Medicaid unwinding began. The changes were greatest in states that have had the largest disenrollments.
The study tracked treatment episodes of the opioid use disorder medication buprenorphine from 2021 to 2023 as pandemic-era Medicaid enrollment protections were phased out. The study authors say the findings have relevance given the recent federal legislation expected to result in 10 million Americans losing their Medicaid health coverage by 2034.
