Publications
Publications
- 2021
Do Policies to Increase Access to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Work?
By: Eric Barrette, Leemore S. Dafny and Karen Shen
Abstract
As of 2016 there were an estimated 2.1 million Americans suffering from opioid use disorder (OUD). To date, most policy interventions have focused on curbing opioid prescriptions and extending insurance coverage to include substance use disorder. However, relatively little is known about treatment rates and outcomes conditional on coverage—particularly in the privately-insured population. We study treatment, spending, and outcomes for a large sample of commercially-insured patients with OUD during the period 2008-2017. The panel nature of the data enables us to identify newly-diagnosed patients and to study their utilization of services before and after their diagnoses.
Keywords
Opioid Treatment; Medication-assisted Treatment; Substance Use Disorder; Private Insurance; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Insurance; United States
Citation
Barrette, Eric, Leemore S. Dafny, and Karen Shen. "Do Policies to Increase Access to Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder Work?" NBER Working Paper Series, No. 29001, July 2021.