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ARSAM Urges Removal of Utilization Management on Critical Addiction Treatments
On October 25th, the Arkansas Society of Addiction Medicine (ARSAM) sent a letter to the Arkansas Medicaid Drug Review Committee (DRC) urging for the committee to remove utilization management restrictions on long-acting injectable medications.
In the letter, ARSAM emphasized the damaging effect that utilization management restrictions such as prior authorization can have on addiction treatment. Prior authorization causes delays and confusion that negatively impact treatment outcomes. When treating addiction, ARSAM noted that time is of the essence. As such, restrictive utilization management policies limit the effectiveness of addiction medications as providers are often unable to prescribe medications quickly enough to stabilize patients. Additionally, ARSAM highlighted the important role that state Medicaid agencies have in expanding evidence-based addiction treatment to vulnerable populations. Especially due to the vast addiction treatment gap, state Medicaid agencies must lead the effort to remove unnecessary barriers to care. As such, ARSAM encouraged the DRC to take substantive steps to enhance the accessibility of all addiction medications, including long-acting injectable medications.