Prior Authorization Prohibitions and Buprenorphine Treatment Retention

Reducing the treatment gap for opioid use disorder is a public health priority in the U.S. Buprenorphine, the most commonly prescribed medication for opioid use disorder, has the potential to bridge this gap due to its availability in office-based settings and pharmacies. To reduce the treatment gap, many states have enacted laws to prohibit insurance plans from requiring prior authorization (PA) for buprenorphine. These PA prohibitions aim to reduce the administrative burdens for patients to access and stay on buprenorphine treatment. However, evidence on the impacts of PA prohibitions is lacking. This study will use 2015-2022 national commercial insurance claims data to examine the effectiveness of state legislative PA prohibitions in improving buprenorphine treatment retention among non-elderly adults.

Allison Ju-Chen Hu is a health services researcher specializing in utilizing large-scale data to provide population-level evidence on the effectiveness and unintended consequences of public health policies. Her research interest lies in the intersection of behavioral health, Medicaid, and the access to and quality of care for underserved populations. Her current research focuses on examining disparities in access to prescription opioids and opioid use disorder treatment across different populations and communities. Hu received her doctoral degree in health services research and health policy from Emory University and her Master of Health Services Administration from the University of Michigan. Before joining Weill Cornell Medicine as a postdoctoral associate, she was a research assistant at the Southeast Mental Health Technology Transfer Center.