“Everybody’s Going to Feel the Pain”: Medicaid Cuts Threaten Addiction Treatment
In a keynote interview at a March 25th University of Pennsylvania virtual conference on the impact of upcoming Medicaid funding changes for substance use disorder treatment programs, New York’s top addiction official warned that the sweeping federal changes could destabilize the nation’s addiction treatment system, forcing states into painful tradeoffs that may ultimately cost lives. Speaking at […]
Cost per Opioid-Free Year: A Complementary Outcome Measure for Economic Evaluations
The quality-adjusted life-year (QALY) is widely acknowledged as the standard effectiveness measure for comprehensive economic evaluations, and the only one with recognized willingness-to-pay thresholds for defining value. Recognizing the benefits of alternative effectiveness measures, Babasoji Oyemakinde, postdoctoral associate at Weill Cornell Medicine and a 2025-2026 CHERISH pilot grant recipient, is developing cost-effectiveness thresholds for the […]
Survey Results Reveal How Participants at Syringe Service Programs Decide on Treatment
In the U.S., as few as 1 in 8 individuals who inject drugs receives the necessary care to prevent or treat their substance use and related health conditions like wound infections, hepatitis C virus (HCV), or HIV. While syringe services programs (SSP) offer non-stigmatizing and low-barrier care, such as needle exchange, on-site HCV and HIV […]
Prior Authorization Bans for Buprenorphine Alone May Not Improve Treatment Retention
State laws that ban insurance prior authorization for buprenorphine—a leading medication for opioid use disorder—may not help more patients stay in treatment for the recommended minimum of 180 days, Weill Cornell Medicine researchers report. Though prescription buprenorphine can be a life-saving treatment that relieves opioid cravings and withdrawal symptoms, adherence to the medication is low. […]
Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Peer-delivered Services in South Africa
The fight against HIV in South Africa is complicated by alcohol and other drug use (AOD), which has been cited as a common barrier to adherence of antiretroviral therapy (ART). The economic burden of disordered alcohol use further strains the country’s public health resources through increased healthcare utilization, social welfare payments, crime, and lost productivity. […]
Catching Up with Pilot Grant Recipients Bre Biondi and Fiona Gispen
The CHERISH pilot grant application for the 2026-2027 funding period is open. In preparation for this 12th cycle, we invited Breanne (Bre) Biondi and Fiona Gispen, CHERISH pilot grantees from the 2024-2025 cohort, to reflect on their overall experience and share tips on preparing the pilot grant application. CHERISH Pilot Grant Director Brandon Aden, Senior […]
Pilot Grant Analysis Examines Prior Authorization Trends for MOUD in Private Insurance
There is a growing body of research illustrating a movement to remove prior authorization for medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD). Prior authorization requires providers to request approval from an insurer before providing a medication or service. This process is historically enforced for a wide range of medications, including certain MOUD, and has been found […]
CHERISH Pilot Grantee Highlight Low PrEP Use Among Women
The introduction of pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention has been paramount to reducing HIV transmission and improving the lives of people living with HIV. However, trends in HIV cases and PrEP uptake suggest unaddressed opportunities to reach women and other communities at risk of contracting HIV. Cis-gender women represent 20% of new HIV cases […]
Improving Substance Use Treatment Access in Criminal-legal Systems through JCOIN 2.0
On September 29, 2025, the Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) kicked off Phase II of its new five-year cycle that represents an estimated $33 million in research investments in 2025. Awarded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) as part of the NIH HEAL Initiative, the investments help establish clinical research hubs and […]
Understanding the Costs of Using Implementation Facilitation to Implement Emergency Department-Initiated Buprenorphine
Buprenorphine, when prescribed in the emergency department (ED), increases the chances for treatment engagement and retention among patients with opioid use disorder (OUD). The patient uptake and clinical administration of ED-initiated buprenorphine for OUD, however, has been slow despite evidence of its effectiveness. Implementation facilitation (IF), a strategy that leverages external facilitators and a local […]
Intern Spotlight: Rachel Wang
This summer, we welcomed Rachel Wang, a rising senior at CUNY Hunter College who has plans to become a physician assistant. She joined CHERISH through the LifeSci NYC Internship, a career development initiative spearheaded by the New York City Economic Development Corporation that connects undergraduate and graduate students to the life sciences and biotech sector […]
CHERISH Awarded NIDA Center of Excellence Grant to Address Growing Complexities of Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV
On August 15, 2025, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) renewed CHERISH as a national Center of Excellence, awarding the center $10.9 million over five years to address the epidemics of substance use disorder (SUD), hepatitis C virus (HCV), and HIV. The news comes at a time when the syndemic of SUD, HCV, and […]
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