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The Affordable Care Act And Medication-Assisted Treatment Accessibility: A Context-Inclusive Review Of Research, Jacob Blevins

MPA/MPP/MPFM Capstone Projects

This paper provides a contextual review of research investigating associations between the health insurance reforms implemented by the Affordable Care Act and the accessibility and utilization of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder. Research indicates that relative to 2008, the year of initial Medicaid expansions in 2014 is nationally associated with increased rates of insurance coverage, increased rates of treatment, and reduced rates of individuals with opioid use disorder forgoing treatment due to financial concerns (McKenna 2017). Between the year prior to state Medicaid expansion and the third year after it, the number of specialty treatment admissions related to the …