MORE INJECTIONS TO COME –
Feb. 4, 2026 – Methadone treatment for opioid use – which cuts the risk of death by overdose in half — among individuals insured by Medicaid-insured increased substantially after 2010. “These medications allow people to focus on rebuilding their lives: Finding housing, reconnecting with family, working, and managing other health conditions,”
In addition to significantly reducing the chance of death by opioid use disorder, treatment with medications like methadone and the related buprenorphine—which stabilize withdrawal symptoms and opioid cravings—have also been found to increase the likelihood that people will stick with their treatment plans.
In addition to the gains in methadone, buprenorphine prescriptions were also found to increase, though at a higher rate, likely due to ease of access.
Tracking the treatments
Analyzing de-identified national data from 1999 to 2020 on methadone and buprenorphine prescriptions from the Medicaid program, which covers nearly 40 percent of Americans living with opioid use disorder, the researchers found very little use of methadone in 1999. Buprenorphine was not approved for opioid use disorder until 2002.
