OIG report finds just 40% of Medicare enrollees who started treatment for opioid use disorder continued

The Department of Health and Human Services Office of Inspector General Feb. 18 released a report that found about 40% of Medicare enrollees who began opioid use disorder treatment with buprenorphine continued with it for at least six months in office-based settings. Those who did not continue treatment were more likely to have died for any cause during the study period than those who did. One-third of enrollees who began treatment with buprenorphine received at least one behavioral therapy service; those who did not receive these services were less likely to continue treatment. Few enrollees received services paid for by Medicare aimed at sustaining access to treatment, such as counseling and care coordination in an office-based setting or initiation of treatment in the emergency department.