Please read Dr. Lloyd’s article in the Journal of Substance Use & Addiction Treatment titled, “Methadone treatment utilization and overdose trends among Medicaid beneficiaries in New Jersey before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.“
The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted delivery systems for the treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD). In response, the federal government and the State of New Jersey enacted emergency measures granting flexibility to health care providers to allow their patients to continue receiving or engaging in the care they need despite pandemic disruptions. The pandemic and the regulatory changes enacted to address it had a major impact on the delivery of methadone maintenance treatment (MMT) in New Jersey, and this study examines the impact that those changes had on trends in MMT receipt and overdoses among MMT patients during this critical time period. While other modalities of medication for OUD have expanded in the last decade, most notably buprenorphine and naltrexone, this study focuses on MMT given the unique impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on service delivery in opioid treatment programs (OTPs).