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This issue brief provides an overview of Medicaid’s role in financing behavioral health services. It includes information on eligibility, benefits, service delivery, access to care, and spending. It also discusses the potential impact of Medicaid restructuring as proposed in the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
Former President Trump has routinely blamed undocumented immigrants for a rise in drug trafficking and overdose deaths…But most fentanyl is being trafficked by American citizens. …
This brief analyzes the latest CDC data on adolescent overdose deaths, finding that from 2022 to 2023, there was a small reduction in overdose fatalities among adolescents (from 721 to 708 deaths). Additionally, the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, has largely driven the increase in adolescent drug fatalities since the pandemic began, accounting for 76% of these fatalities in 2023. This analysis also explores federal and state policy responses to the drug crisis, such as requirements to stock naloxone in schools, accountability for social media companies, and national prevention education efforts.
This edition looks at how political rhetoric is driving misinformation about fentanyl and immigration, legal implications of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills sold on social media, and myths about opioid exposure.
This analysis builds on previous KFF work by using Medicaid claims data for 2016-2019 to explore how prescriptions for opioids used to treat pain and those used to treat OUD or rapidly reverse overdose changed across states and Medicaid enrollee demographic groups over time.
This report provides an in-depth examination of the changes taking place in Medicaid programs across the country. Report findings are drawn from the annual budget survey of Medicaid officials in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This report examines the reforms, policy changes, and initiatives that occurred in FY 2018 and those adopted for implementation for FY 2019 (which began for most states on July 1, 2018). Key areas covered include changes in eligibility, managed care and delivery system reforms, long-term services and supports, provider payment rates and taxes, covered benefits, and pharmacy and opioid strategies.
A new KFF tracker highlights key federal policy actions during President Trump’s second term that concern issues related to mental health and substance use. The second Trump administration has emphasized law-and-order strategies and scaled back several mental health and substance use-related services, while also continuing some treatment-focused initiatives. The tracker can be viewed in multiple ways, including chronological order of policy actions and by category (Mental Health; Opioids/Substance Use Disorder; Federal Infrastructure/ Data/Guidance; and Gun Violence).
To better understand the variation in access to behavioral health services for adults in Medicaid, KFF surveyed state Medicaid officials about behavioral health benefits covered for adult enrollees in their fee-for-service programs.
On KFF’s 21st annual Medicaid budget survey, all responding states reported at least one initiative to expand behavioral health care in Medicaid, including crisis service and other benefit expansions, initiatives to expand telehealth and address equity, and managed care changes.
On October 3, 2018, the Senate overwhelmingly passed comprehensive, bipartisan legislation to address the opioid epidemic, sending the measure to President Trump who has indicated he will sign it. The bill, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act, was passed earlier by the House and tackles many aspects of the epidemic, including treatment, prevention, recovery, and enforcement. While very broad in scope, the final legislation contains a number of provisions related to Medicaid’s role in helping states provide coverage and services to people who need substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, particularly those needing opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment.
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