GAO reports on barriers to opioid treatment

According to the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), of the approximately 70,000 deaths resulting from drug overdoses that occurred in 2018, 69% were opioid related. In a review of barriers to Medicaid beneficiaries’ access to medication-assisted treatment, the GAO reported the ability of nurse practitioners (NPs) to treat opioid use disorder in some states is restricted by requirements for physician supervision of NPs or collaborative agreements between physicians and NPs. These requirements can hinder patient access to medically assisted treatment, a fact which prompted the GAO to recommend, in its report to the Congressional Committees, that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services should consider whether or not states are in compliance with federal requirements to cover medically assisted treatments and act accordingly. (AACN’s Washington Weekly story, 1/29/20)