ArticleAnnals of medicine2023
Prior authorization restrictions on medications for opioid use disorder: trends in state laws from 2005 to 2019.
Article in Annals of medicine, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 16 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Who cites it
16 citing papers in PubMed.
- Medicaid Managed Care Plan Alignment With State Substance Use Disorder Treatment Coverage Requirements.The Milbank quarterly · 2026Article
- State Prior Authorization Prohibitions and Buprenorphine Retention Among Privately Insured Patients.JAMA health forum · 2026Article
- Retention among Medicaid beneficiaries in opioid treatment programs in California.Journal of substance use and addiction treatment · 2026Article
- From Control to Care: Reframing Medication Access Policies Through Public Health Ethics.The Journal of law, medicine & ethics : a journal of the American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics · 2026Review
- "They should be like penicillin": barriers to the integration of medications for opioid use disorder in specialty treatment programs.Addiction science & clinical practice · 2025Article
- Medicaid prescription cap policies and exemptions for medications for opioid use disorder: A process and content analysis.Health affairs scholar · 2025Article
- State Laws Banning Prior Authorization For Medications For Opioid Use Disorder Increased Substantially, 2015-23.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2025Article
- Advocacy and the Opioid Epidemic: Positioning Providers to Influence Policy and Improve Public Health.Focus (American Psychiatric Publishing) · 2025Article
- Buprenorphine prescribing practices for older adults in 2019 and 2020.Journal of the American Geriatrics Society · 2025Observational
- Medicaid managed care restrictions on medications for the treatment of opioid use disorder.Health services research · 2025Article
- No Time to Wait: Leveraging Primary Care to Treat Stimulant Use Disorder.American journal of preventive medicine · 2024Article
- US payment policy for medications to treat opioid use disorder: landscape and opportunities.Health affairs scholar · 2024Article
- Why higher copayments for opioids did not reduce use among Medicare beneficiaries.Health economics · 2024Article
- Navigating addiction treatment during COVID-19: policy insights from state health leaders.Health affairs scholar · 2024Article
- Buprenorphine Treatment For Opioid Use Disorder: Comparison Of Insurance Restrictions, 2017-21.Health affairs (Project Hope) · 2023Article
- Buprenorphine treatment episode duration, dosage, and concurrent prescribing of benzodiazepines and opioid analgesics: The effects of Medicaid prior authorization policies.Drug and alcohol dependence · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
RESEARCH
objectiveMedications for opioid use disorder (MOUDs) - including methadone, buprenorphine, and naltrexone - are the most effective treatments for opioid use disorder (OUD). Historically, insurers have required prior authorization for MOUD, but prior authorization is often reported as a key barrier to MOUD prescribing. Some states have passed laws prohibiting MOUD prior authorization requirements. We sought to identify the frequency of MOUD prior authorization prohibitions in state laws and to categorize types of prohibitions.
methodsWe searched for regulations and statutes present in all U.S. states and Washington DC between 2005 and 2019 using MOUD-related terms in Westlaw legal software. In qualitative software, we coded laws discussing MOUD prior authorization using template analysis - a mixed deductive/inductive approach. Finally, we used coded laws to identify frequencies of states with prior authorization prohibitions, including changes over time.
resultsNo states had laws prohibiting MOUD prior authorization between 2005 and 2015, with the first prohibition appearing in 2016. By 2019, fifteen states had MOUD prior authorization prohibitions. States varied significantly in their approach to prohibiting MOUD prior authorization. In 2019, it was more common for states to have MOUD prior authorization prohibitions applying to all insurers (
conclusionsThe number of states with an MOUD prior authorization law prohibition increased in recent years. Such laws could help expand access to life-saving OUD treatments by making it easier for clinicians to prescribe MOUD.KEY MESSAGESNo states had MOUD prior authorization prohibitions between 2005 and 2015 in state statutes or regulations, and only one state had such a prohibition in 2016.By 2019, fifteen states had an MOUD prior authorization prohibition law.States varied significantly in their approach to prohibiting MOUD prior authorization, including with respect to the insurer type, duration of the prohibition, and applicable medication.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.