Study finds deficient medical attention in addictions

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Federal researchers this month found that in 2021, only about 20 percent of the roughly 2.5 million people with opioid use disorder had received medication treatment, a problem that especially affects Black adults, women and the unemployed. The reasons may be cultural and financial. KFF researchers published some anonymous responses from survey participants who were asked why they or a family member did not get treated. “We are not raised that way,” a 22-year-old Black woman in Georgia said. “Lack of funding, no insurance coverage — turned away for treatment,” a 50-year-old white woman in South Carolina said.

More than 80 percent of the respondents said that naloxone, a medicine that can reverse an opioid overdose, should be readily available in places like bars and fire stations. Dr. David Fiellin, an addiction physician at the Yale School of Medicine, said the survey showed the need for a stronger federal response to substance use disorders, akin to the one for AIDS. Primary care practices are especially critical to treating Americans, he noted.

“There’s often a misunderstanding of what treatment actually looks like and what it is — people often look to a quick fix,” he said, referring to a detox strategy. “Effective treatment tends to be much longer term and requires addressing the denial that can be part of the condition.”

President Biden this month requested $350 million from Congress to fund addiction treatment and other drug-related services across the country. The Biden administration and federal lawyers also continue to search for ways to loosen restrictions on treatment.

Methadone, another opioid addiction medication that alleviates cravings, is heavily regulated and often difficult for drug users to access and use continuously, prompting repeated calls from addiction physicians and public health experts for easing restrictions.