# Improving Access and Quality of care for Medicaid-Eligible Adults with Opioid Use Disorder

> **NIH NIH K01** · JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY · 2021 · $183,545

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Drug overdose is now the most common cause of injury death in the United States, and opioid
analgesics are involved in almost half of these deaths. Overdose deaths have quadrupled since the late 1990s,
corresponding to rising misuse of opioid analgesics and heroin. Increasing access to medication-assisted
treatment (MAT) such as methadone maintenance and buprenorphine is one important strategy for addressing
opioid use disorder (OUD). Expanded Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults could increase use of OUD
treatment among low-income adults with inconsistent insurance coverage. Expanding eligibility for Medicaid
may be most effective in reducing OUD if Medicaid programs offer comprehensive MAT coverage and
treatment providers locate in areas where new Medicaid enrollees are likely to require services.
 This application for a National Institute on Drug Abuse Mentored Research Scientist Development
Award (K01) seeks support for a new Assistant Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public
Health who aspires to a career focused on improving publicly-funded services and systems that treat
individuals with substance use disorders, particularly OUD. Dr. Saloner's prior research has focused on access
to care for behavioral health disorders and on health insurance. To extend the reach and scope of this
research, Dr. Saloner proposes to move his research toward clinical outcomes, resource allocation and value
measurement, impact evaluation, and geospatial analysis. Accordingly, the K01 training is focused on gaining
knowledge in addiction medicine, cost effectiveness analysis, causal inference, and spatial statistics.
 The proposed research will employ mixed methods to study the multiple determinants of access to
OUD treatment for low-income adults. Research aims will include (1) an evaluation of how expansions of
Medicaid eligibility for low-income adults have impacted use of treatment services, health, and social outcomes
among low-income adults with OUD; (2) a geographic analysis to identify clusters where individuals with OUD
reside, and to examine the proximity of those clusters to treatment resources and to areas with high Medicaid
enrollment; (3) a detailed analysis of how access to medication-assisted treatments in two different state
Medicaid programs is associated with treatment costs and health outcomes. The practical application of this
work will be to guide efforts by states and localities to more effectively target resources to individuals with
OUD. By providing salary support, training, freedom from administrative responsibilities, and a formal
mentorship structure, this award will facilitate Dr. Saloner's transition to an independent research career
focused on improving health and social outcomes among persons with OUD.

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10151589
- **Project number:** 5K01DA042139-05
- **Recipient organization:** JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY
- **Principal Investigator:** BRENDAN K SALONER
- **Activity code:** K01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $183,545
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2017-04-01 → 2023-03-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10151589

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10151589, Improving Access and Quality of care for Medicaid-Eligible Adults with Opioid Use Disorder (5K01DA042139-05). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10151589. Licensed CC0.

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