Soni Aparna, Bullinger Lindsey, Andrews Christina, Abraham Amanda, Simon Kosali
American University.
Georgia Institute of Technology.
Contemp Econ Policy. 2024 Jan;42(1):25-40. doi: 10.1111/coep.12623. Epub 2023 Aug 14.
Rates of neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) resulting from opioid misuse are rising. However, policies to treat opioid misuse during pregnancy are unclear. We apply a difference-in-differences design to national pediatric discharge records to examine the effects of state Medicaid policies on NAS. Among states in which Medicaid covered two clinically-recommended medications for treating opioid misuse (buprenorphine, methadone), the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid expansion reduced Medicaid-covered NAS hospitalizations. Medicaid expansion did not affect NAS hospitalizations in other expansion states. These findings imply a nuanced relationship between Medicaid policy and NAS that should be considered in addressing opioid misuse among pregnant women.
因阿片类药物滥用导致的新生儿戒断综合征（NAS）发生率正在上升。然而，孕期治疗阿片类药物滥用的政策尚不明确。我们运用双重差分设计对全国儿科出院记录进行分析，以研究各州医疗补助政策对NAS的影响。在医疗补助覆盖两种临床推荐用于治疗阿片类药物滥用的药物（丁丙诺啡、美沙酮）的州中，《平价医疗法案》的医疗补助扩大计划减少了医疗补助覆盖的NAS住院病例。医疗补助扩大计划对其他扩大州的NAS住院病例没有影响。这些发现表明医疗补助政策与NAS之间存在微妙的关系，在解决孕妇阿片类药物滥用问题时应予以考虑。
