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Trends in buprenorphine-waivered providers in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states by their public listing status

Abstract Background: The federal government has made several efforts to increase access to buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid use disorder (OUD). However, patients continue to face challenges in access to treatment for OUD. Objectives: This study seeks to examine the trends in the prevalence of buprenorphine-waivered practitioners who opt to be publicly listed on the Buprenorphine Treatment Practitioner Locator tool maintained by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and how this varies between Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states. Methods: Administrative records of all the DATA-waivered providers collected by SAMHSA were utilized to identify the trends in the number of waivered practitioners by their public listing status from 2002–2017. We further examine how that trend varied between Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states. Results: The total number of waivered providers increased steadily from 300 in 2002 to 41,960 in 2017. In 2015, the number of waivered providers began to increase rapidly, with the number in Medicaid expansion states increasing faster than in non-expansion states from 2014–2017 (136% vs. 59%). Even though a greater proportion of waivered providers listed their names publicly in non-expansion states than in expansion states from 2014–2017, the rate of public listing of names increased more rapidly in Medicaid expansion states than in non-expansion states (170% vs. 85%) during the same period. Conclusions: This finding suggests that even though there has been an increase in waivered providers to prescribe buprenorphine in Medicaid expansion and non-expansion states, barriers to access treatment still persist. Policy initiatives that seek to expand access to substance-use treatment are warranted.