USA. Opioid Crisis Becomes Central Issue in Debate Over Medicaid
“The national opioid crisis is becoming a political hurdle for Senate Republicans negotiating an -ObamaCare repeal-and-replace bill that could end the healthcare law’s expansion of Medicaid.
Legislation approved by the House would cut off Medicaid expansion in 2020, ending payouts to states and reducing federal funding to the program by about $880 billion, according to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office.
Nearly 30 percent of people receiving health coverage through Medicaid expansion have a mental health or substance use disorder or both, according to the National Council for Behavioral Health.
In states like West Virginia, Ohio and Alaska, Medicaid pays for between 34 to 50 percent of one form of medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorders.” (thehill.com, 11.05.2017)