Building a Resilient Substance Use Disorder Treatment Safety Net in An Era of Austerity: Challenges for US State Governments

Manatt Health National Advisor co-authored an article for The Milbank Quarterly examining how states can preserve progress in addressing substance use disorders amid mounting federal policy and budgetary pressures.

Olsen and Brown University’s Dr. Brendan Saloner explore states’ increasingly central role in financing, regulating and coordinating substance use care. While supportive federal policies and Medicaid funding have contributed to expanded services and declining overdose deaths, the authors warn that recent policy changes could jeopardize those gains. They outline opportunities for states to improve oversight, strengthen cross-agency collaboration and build a more coordinated, proactive system of care despite growing fiscal constraints.

“States seeking to maintain their progress in reducing overdose mortality and addressing substance use disorders will need to sustain investments in strategies that have expanded the continuum of specialty services and promoted integration with primary care.”

Subscribers of The Milbank Quarterly can view the full article .