Abstract
Objective: Understand how insurance impacts access to services among people who have injected drugs. Methods: 1748 adults who have injected drugs were assessed at twice-annual study visits between 2006 and 2017 (18,869 visits). Use of specialty substance use treatment, receipt of buprenorphine, and having a regular source of medical care were assessed for association with concurrent insurance coverage. Random intercept logistic regression was used to adjust for potential confounders. Results: When participants acquired insurance, they were more likely to report specialty substance use treatment (aOR 2.0, 95% CI 1.6 to 2.5), a buprenorphine prescription (aOR 3.3, 95% CI 2.0 to 5.5), and a regular source of medical care (aOR 6.3, 95% CI 5.1 to 7.8). Conclusion: Insurance is associated with increased use of three important services for individuals who inject drugs. Implications: Expanding insurance may facilitate access to substance use treatment and other needed health services.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 75-81 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment |
Volume | 96 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jan 2019 |
Keywords
- Cohort study
- Injection drug use
- Insurance
- Substance use treatment
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Phychiatric Mental Health
- Medicine (miscellaneous)
- Clinical Psychology
- Psychiatry and Mental health