Data from: Government assistance and Medicaid: The relationship with drug treatment and medication for opioid use disorder among women in the United States

Introduction: Social safety net programs (e.g., Medicaid and government
assistance) may facilitate drug use disorder (DUD) treatment receipt. We
explored the association of social safety net programs with drug treatment
and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD)receipt among women with DUD
and opioid use disorder (OUD), respectively. Methods: We
used data from women ages 18-64 who met criteria for
past-year DSM-5 DUD (n=2,784) and OUD (n=458) in the 2022 public-use
National Survey for Drug Use and Health. We estimated the odds of
past-year DUD treatment among women with DUD and past-year MOUD treatment
among women with OUD by government assistance and/or Medicaid receipt in
primary analyses, followed by secondary categorizations of exposure (any
government assistance; number of programs received), using separate
logistic regressions, controlling for sociodemographics.
Results: In primary analyses, women with DUD receiving
both Medicaid and government assistance were more likely to report
past-year DUD treatment (aOR: 3.60, 95% CI=1.36, 9.51) compared to women
receiving neither. Women with past-year OUD receiving both Medicaid and
government assistance were more likely to report MOUD (aOR: 3.41, 95%
CI=1.01, 11.61) compared to those receiving neither. Secondary analysis
results were in the same direction. Conclusion: Drug treatment and MOUD
receipt among women with DUD and OUD, respectively, increased when
Medicaid was combined with other forms of government assistance. Treatment
costs and other barriers, such as lack of insurance, childcare, and
employment support, are critical determinants of drug treatment; our
findings suggest that government support programs may help to buffer these
known barriers.