States are using Medicaid funding to pay for behavioral health and substance use disorder treatment at non-federally approved facilities, according to a report from MACPAC released this month.
Like many issues surrounding the treatment of Substance Use Disorder, the decades-old “IMD Exclusion,” which prohibits Medicaid from paying for the treatment of adults under 65 at residential facilities with more than 16 beds. MACPAC’s report showed that many states are using creative solutions to get around this Federal law. More often than not, reports like this lead to new regulation that can cause a serious disruption for patients and providers alike.