A new Urban Institute analysis finds that Buprenorphine prescriptions rose substantially in states that expanded Medicaid through the Affordable Care Act, colloquially called Obamacare, after the President who got its legislation pushed through Congress.
That may be a statistical blip exploited by opponents the same way agenda-driven epidemiologists create rows of diseases and columns of foods and chemicals to create the appearance of a harmful link, it may be that patients suffered quietly because they couldn't afford it.
Of course, it could also be basic human psychology, like in New York City along where the ACA led to 9,000 more costly ambulance rides for minor injuries in just three years. When the ambulance ride is the same price as a subway token for subsidized people, they take the ambulance.
READ ALSO: New York City: Obamacare Led To A Surge In Unnecessary Ambulance Rides
But the Urban Institute is a left-wing think tank, they should be all for Obamacare and not motivated to tear it down.
Buprenorphine (Subutex) is an opioid but is one of three products the federal government has approved for opioid withdrawal. Yes, the federal government has policies about harm reduction for opioid users that they deny work for smokers. Predictably, Medicaid State Drug Utilization Data shows that states that expanded Medicaid under the ACA had more low-income populations getting the drug.
In the 25 states (plus D.C.) that expanded Medicaid by early 2014, prescriptions jumped from 1.2 million in 2013 to 4.8 million in 2018. The 17 “nonexpansion” states saw an increase of only 300,000 over the same time period,from 200,000 to 500,000. The disparity between states was immense, with the rate of buprenorphine prescriptions per 1,000 Medicaid enrollees varying 200-fold across states.
