RTI International researchers compared Medicaid population with total US population using CMS and CDC data

RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., Dec. 6, 2024 /PRNewswire/ -- In a first-of-its-kind study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), health economists at nonprofit research institute RTI International found the drug overdose death rate was twice as high in Medicaid beneficiaries compared to the total U.S. population across all age groups.

Specifically, the study revealed there were 54.6 overdose deaths among Medicaid beneficiaries per 100,000 versus 27.9 for the total U.S. population in 2020. Medicaid beneficiaries accounted for 25% of the population but 48% (44,277 of 91,799) of all overdose deaths nationwide. Moreover, from 2016 through 2020, overdose deaths among Medicaid beneficiaries increased by 54%, according to the study.

"Our study reveals an urgent need to reduce overdose deaths among U.S. Medicaid beneficiaries," said lead author Tami L. Mark, Ph.D., M.B.A., Distinguished Fellow and director of Behavioral Health Financing and Quality Measurement at RTI. "More research is required to understand the underlying factors that put this population at higher risk and to identify effective interventions."

Dr. Mark and co-author Benjamin Huber determined drug overdose deaths among the Medicaid population compared to the total US. population overall and by age and sex using Medicaid enrollment data from the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) that was linked to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) National Death Index (NDI).

"We were able to conduct this research because CMS and CDC linked Medicaid data to the National Death Index, which is not common practice," said Dr. Mark. "Researchers and policymakers need ongoing access to linked data to determine which subpopulations are most at risk and to evaluate the effect of policies to reduce drug overdoses."

This is the first study to track overdose deaths among the Medicaid population and was supported by RTI through internal funding.

Read the full study (via JAMA)

Learn more about RTI's substance use research

Learn more about RTI's behavioral health research

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SOURCE RTI International