Maintaining Buprenorphine Treatment for Medicare Enrollees With Opioid Use Disorder

Opioid-related overdose deaths in the United States remain high, at an estimated 82,310 in 2021. Ensuring that individuals who start treatment for opioid use disorder stay in treatment for as long as necessary is critical to addressing the opioid crisis. Yet, little is known about the extent to which people enrolled in Medicare Part D maintain buprenorphine treatment, which is the most common medication for the treatment of opioid use disorder in Medicare Part D. Research has shown that discontinuing treatment medications-such as buprenorphine-increases the likelihood of overdose deaths. Moreover, longer retention in treatment is also associated with improved outcomes, such as decreased rates of emergency room visits. This study will look at the extent to which people enrolled in Medicare Part D maintain buprenorphine treatment for at least 6 months. It will also look at the extent to which these enrollees-including the setting in which they start their treatment and the services they receive-differ from enrollees who do not maintain treatment.

Announced or Revised	Agency	Title	Component	Report Number(s)	Expected Issue Date (FY)
August 2023	Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services	Maintaining Buprenorphine Treatment for Medicare Enrollees With Opioid Use Disorder	Office of Evaluation and Inspections	OEI-02-23-00360	2025