Yuhua Bao, PhD

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 […]

Methadone is known as the gold standard treatment for opioid use disorder, with some experts calling it a “miracle drug” for its effectiveness in blocking the effects of other opioids and preventing withdrawal. Since 1972, its use has been limited to specialized opioid treatment programs, with patients required to travel to a clinic for daily dosing. This […]

Rachel was making her 25th visit to the emergency department. The wound on her leg from injecting drugs had spread to her entire calf and required a lengthy course of antibiotic treatment in the hospital. The few times she had been admitted to the hospital, she had left without finishing treatment because the pain and […]

Direct-acting antivirals (DAAs) have been available since 2015 for hepatitis C (HCV). Nonetheless, very few patients with HCV initiate DAA treatment, ranging from 5% to 30%. The location where a patient is first diagnosed can also influence the care patients receive afterward, especially when a referral to a specialist or coordinated care is needed. In […]

Peer support services (PSS) play an increasingly important role in supporting recovery for people with substance use disorder (SUD). Through these services, peer support workers combine lived experience and professional training to provide health education, encouragement and empathy, recovery modeling, and concrete assistance in overcoming barriers to recovery. As of 2018, 37 Medicaid programs covered PSS for SUD. In a research letter in JAMA Network Open, Dr. Yuhua Bao, professor of population health sciences, and colleagues investigated multi-state utilization of Medicaid-covered PSS in 2019. Researchers found that overall use of Medicaid-covered […]

While there are highly effective treatments for the hepatitis C virus (HCV), only 1 in 5 Medicaid enrollees diagnosed with HCV started treatment, according to a retrospective study led by researchers at Weill Cornell Medicine and Cornell University’s Ithaca campus. The findings revealed that treatment uptake rates were even lower among people under 30, women, […]

Dr. Yuhua Bao, professor of population health sciences in the Division of Health Policy and Economics, has received grants from the American Cancer Society (ACS) and the National Cancer Institute (NCI) to assess the implications of opioid and other drug policies for patients receiving active cancer treatments, long-term survivors of cancer, and cancer patients with advanced disease. “Both studies are motivated by the […]

The two main medications that treat opioid use in the United States reduce overdose deaths by 50%. Yet fewer than one in 10 people with opioid use disorder (OUD) can access this kind of medical protocol, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Fortunately, a new law and a new federal regulation […]

Increased prevalence of illicit substance use during pregnancy in the past decade has renewed national attention to prenatal substance use policies (PSUPs). Currently, there are punitive policies that criminalize drug use during pregnancy or define prenatal substance use as child maltreatment in child welfare statutes. If newborns are found to have prenatal exposure to substances […]

Prescription drug monitoring programs (PDMPs) are statewide databases that track controlled substances dispensed at retail pharmacies. Used by health care providers, public health officials, and other stakeholders, PDMPs have become a major tool in addressing unsafe opioid prescriptions. Robust features of PDMPs—including mandates that allow prescriber use of PDMP, data-sharing across states, and prescriber delegation of […]