59% Of Medicare Enrollees On MOUD Discontinued Their Treatment

About 59% of the 143,383 Medicare enrollees who started buprenorphine medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) in office-based settings in 2021 or 2022 discontinued this treatment within six months of starting. These enrollees were prescribed buprenorphine by a provider organization and either filled these prescriptions at pharmacies or received buprenorphine directly administered by their provider organizations, for example through an injection in the provider organization’s office. Buprenorphine can decrease both illicit opioid use and overdose deaths, and is the most common medication used to treat opioid use disorder in Medicare.

MOUD, which includes medications like methadone, buprenorphine . . .