Study of Pennsylvania commonwealth efforts to reverse opioid epidemic

The American Medical Association (AMA), Pennsylvania Medical Society (PAMED) and Manatt Health today released the first in a series of studies of state responses to the opioid epidemic. Focusing on Pennsylvania, the spotlight analysis found that considerable progress is being made to increase access to evidence-based treatment for substance use disorders and to increase oversight and enforcement of state parity laws governing mental health and substance use disorder.  

In addition to the continued enforcement and refinement of tools to identify parity violations, the analysis highlights last month’s landmark agreement between the governor’s administration and the seven largest insurers in the state, fully removing prior authorization requirements for medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to treat substance use disorders.