Simulated impact of mobile opioid treatment program units on increasing access to methadone for opioid use disorder

ObjectiveTo model the potential impact of mobile methadone unit implementation in Louisiana on net medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) treatment rates.Data Sources/Study SettingWe use secondary Louisiana Medicaid claims data between 2020 and 2021.Study DesignWe simulate the impact of mobile methadone units in Louisiana using two approaches: (1) a "Poisson regression approach," which predicts the number of opioid use disorder (OUD) patients that might use methadone at mobile locations based on the underlying association between methadone use and proximity to a brick-and-mortar methadone clinic; (2) a "policy approach," which leverages local treatment uptake rates following the expansion of methadone coverage to Louisiana Medicaid beneficiaries in 2020 to estimate methadone use following mobile unit implementation. Models were run in cases where mobile methadone operators could choose their operation locations freely and in a separate instance where they were restricted to serving rural locations.Data CollectionOur analytic sample includes 43,341 Louisiana Medicaid beneficiaries with one or more primary or secondary diagnoses for opioid dependence.Principal FindingsWe predict that 10 new mobile methadone units in Louisiana would increase the net MOUD treatment rate in the state by 0.54-2.39 percentage points. If these mobile units delivered Methadone exclusively to rural areas, they could increase rural MOUD treatment by 8.54-13.67 percentage points. Further, roughly 20% of all beneficiaries residing in rural areas being treated with methadone would be an average of 24 miles closer to a methadone treatment provider following mobile unit implementation.ConclusionsMobile methadone units represent a promising innovation in the delivery of methadone that is likely to increase methadone use, especially in underserved rural locations. However, we find significant variation in their impact conditional on where they choose to operate, and so careful location planning will be required to maximize their benefit.