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AZSAM Supports Higher Payment Rates for Take-Home Methadone Doses
On March 1, the Arizona Society of Addiction Medicine (AZSAM) sent a public comment letter to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) regarding a proposal to adjust Medicaid payment rates for take-home methadone doses. While AHCCCS proposed to raise rates above previous levels, AZSAM raised concern that the rates for take-home doses were too low in comparison to in-person services.
In the letter, AZSAM noted that many of its members work in opioid treatment programs (OTPs) and will be impacted by this policy. Additionally, AZSAM cited recent Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) guidance outlining exemptions from federal regulations to enhance the accessibility of take-home methadone doses. Take-home methadone doses from OTPs have been essential to safely expanding addiction treatment to people with OUD. People living far from OTPs in rural and isolated areas especially have benefited from increased access to take-home doses. Further, AZSAM emphasized research indicating that the expansion of take-home doses have been implemented safely and do not increase the risk of diversion. Despite their clear benefits for patients and relatively low risks, AZSAM argued that valuing take-home doses at a lower rate than in-person services would decrease their usage and financial viability. As such, AZSAM recommended that AHCCCS raise rates for take-homes doses or consider a bundled or hybrid model for both.