We really do have a solution to the opioid epidemic — and one state is showing it works


In order to tackle opioid addiction, the state of Virginia found a way to make drug treatment accessible to people with medicaid by boosting “reimbursement rates to addiction treatment providers.” Historically, drug treatment hasn’t been covered by health insurance. Virginia is changing that. Already, “the percent of Medicaid members with an opioid use disorder who received treatment went up by 29 percent from April to December 2017 compared to the same period the previous year.”

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