Type of Health Insurance and the Substance Abuse Treatment Gap

A study recently published concluded that populations with different types of public health insurance have rates of receiving treatment for a substance use disorder that range from two to four times greater than the privately insured. The study was funded by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), with authors from SAMHSA, Mathematica, and the National Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors. The study also found that those with private health insurance plans who need substance abuse treatment have the lowest rates of receiving any treatment services or specialty treatment services (6.9 and 3.9 , respectively).