Navigating addiction treatment during COVID-19: policy insights from state health leaders

Author:

White Sarah A1ORCID,McCourt Alexander D1ORCID,Tormohlen Kayla N2ORCID,Yu Jiani2ORCID,Eisenberg Matthew D1,McGinty Emma E2

Affiliation:

1. Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health , Baltimore, MD 21205 , United States

2. Division of Health Policy and Economics, Weill Cornell Medicine , New York, NY 10065 , United States

Abstract

Abstract To mitigate pandemic-related disruptions to addiction treatment, US federal and state governments made significant changes to policies regulating treatment delivery. State health agencies played a key role in implementing these policies, giving agency leaders a distinct vantage point on the feasibility and implications of post-pandemic policy sustainment. We interviewed 46 state health agency and other leaders responsible for implementing COVID-19 addiction treatment policies across 8 states with the highest COVID-19 death rate in their census region. Semi-structured interviews were conducted from April through October 2022. Transcripts were analyzed using summative content analysis to characterize policies that interviewees perceived would, if sustained, benefit addiction treatment delivery long-term. State policies were then characterized through legal database queries, internet searches, and analysis of existing policy databases. State leaders viewed multiple pandemic-era policies as useful for expanding addiction treatment access post-pandemic, including relaxing restrictions for telehealth, particularly for buprenorphine induction and audio-only treatment; take-home methadone allowances; mobile methadone clinics; and out-of-state licensing flexibilities. All states adopted at least 1 of these policies during the pandemic. Future research should evaluate these policies outside of the acute COVID-19 pandemic context.

Funder

National Institute for Drug Abuse

Publisher

Oxford University Press (OUP)

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