Wider support boosts addiction treatment rates for women

Women with drug addiction are more likely to access treatment when enrolled in Medicaid alongside other government support programmes, new research suggests.

The study found that combining health insurance with services such as childcare and employment assistance significantly increased treatment uptake among women with drug use disorder (DUD) and opioid use disorder (OUD) – conditions involving dependence on drugs, including opioids such as prescription painkillers or heroin.

Researchers found that women with OUD who received both Medicaid and other forms of government assistance were significantly more likely to access medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD), compared with those who received neither.

 Silvia Martins, professor of epidemiology and senior author, said: “Medicaid, in particular, continues to play a critical role in facilitating access to drug treatment among women.

“But our findings also highlight how complementary services—such as childcare and employment support—can reduce structural barriers to care like lack of insurance, caregiving responsibilities, and financial instability.”

The analysis was conducted by researchers at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, using data from 2,784 women aged 18 to 64 with past-year drug use disorder, and 458 women who met the criteria for opioid use disorder.

Fewer than one in six women with drug use disorder received any form of treatment in the past year. Although not the focus of the current paper, previous data also show that 14 per cent of women with opioid use disorder receive MOUD, compared to 23 per cent of men – highlighting a persistent gender gap.

The study used data from the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health and controlled for sociodemographic factors including age, race, education level, employment, marital status and number of children.

Participants were grouped based on whether they had Medicaid, other government assistance such as SNAP food benefits, or both.

Even without Medicaid, women receiving any government support had significantly higher odds of receiving treatment compared to those with no assistance.

Martins said: “While drug treatment rates are improving among women who receive benefits, a substantial unmet need remains.”

The researchers said treatment should be integrated with access to essential support services to improve outcomes.

They wrote: “Our findings suggest that targeted interventions that include direct treatment linked to support services like housing, transportation, vocational training, and childcare and that go beyond health insurance alone could significantly increase treatment uptake and overcome structural barriers that disproportionately affect women—a possibility that should be directly tested in future research.”