Effects Of Medicaid Waivers On Use Of Medications For Opioid Use Disorder And Nonfatal Overdoses In 17 States, in Health Affairs
key takeaway: "Waiver implementation was not associated with improvements in overall medication treatment, buprenorphine and naltrexone prescribing, or rates of nonfatal overdoses among Medicaid enrollees with OUD. Waiver implementation was associated with a 2.3-percentage-point increase in the use of methadone with waiver implementation, as a result of coverage changes, and a 3.7-percentage-point increase in any medication treatment among Medicaid enrollees diagnosed with severe OUD who had an inpatient or residential stay. Our findings suggest that such waivers adopted by states during 2017–19 were not associated with significant improvements in medication treatment or reductions in nonfatal opioid-related overdoses among Medicaid enrollees with OUD. However, they may have moderately improved the use of medication treatment for those with severe OUD."
Ketamine Detection and Involvement in Drug Overdose Deaths — United States, July 2019–June 2023, in Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
key takeaway: "During July 2019–June 2023, ketamine was detected in <1% of overdose deaths and was the only drug involved in 24 deaths. During this period, the percentage of overdose deaths with ketamine detected in toxicology reports increased from 0.3% (47 deaths) to 0.5% (107 deaths). Approximately 82% of deaths with ketamine detected in toxicology reports involved other substances, including illegally manufactured fentanyls, methamphetamine, or cocaine."
Factors Associated With Not Receiving Mental Health Services Among Children With A Mental Disorder in Early Childhood in the United States, 2021–2022, in Preventing Chronic Disease
key takeaway: "The primary reasons for not receiving needed health care were problems getting an appointment (72.1%), issues related to cost (39.3%), and services needed not being available in the area (38.5%). Poor experiences with health care providers were consistently associated with not receiving needed mental health services among children with mental disorders."