Friday, July 21, 2023 | The Latest Research, Commentary, And News From Health Affairs
Dear John,
As a reminder, we launched our open-access
journal Health Affairs Scholar earlier this summer.
State Funding For Substance Use Treatment
In their article in the July issue of Health Affairs, Christina Andrews and her team of coauthors examine trends in state funding for substance use disorder (SUD) treatment among Medicaid expansion and nonexpansion states between 2010–19.
They find that overall, average state allocation to substance use treatment disorder treatment and prevention was $48 million across all years and states, but that
higher-than-average spending was concentrated in the Northeast US, while lower-than-average spending was concentrated in the Southeast.
Andrews and coauthors find that "inflation-adjusted state spending per capita declined during the period 2010–19, driven by reductions in spending among states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care’s optional eligibility expansion that states began to implement in 2014."
Additionally, the team of researchers found that expansion states under Republican control experienced larger spending
reductions.
Ultimately, these findings suggest that expansion states cut spending for SUD treatment, shifting this financial burden to the federal level.
Supported by CVS Health and featuring health equity experts as they examine private-sector initiatives and responsibility to advance health equity, the series includes articles exploring private-sector efforts to challenge injustices in health care.
In the final article in the series, Kurt Brenkus and Lori Coffaefrom Indigenous Pact explore private sector opportunities to foster American Indian/Alaska Native health equity.
Health Affairs is the leading peer-reviewedjournalat the intersection of health, health care, and policy. Published monthly by Project HOPE, the journal is available in print and online. Late-breaking
content is also found through healthaffairs.org, Health Affairs Today, and Health Affairs Sunday Update.
Project HOPE is a global health and humanitarian relief organization that places power in the hands of local health care workers to save lives across the globe. Project HOPE has published Health Affairs since 1981.
