CMS reminds States of mandatory Medicaid MAT coverage starting October 1

The Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services (CMS) recently sent a reminder to States that under the SUPPORT Act of 2018, Medicaid programs are required to provide coverage of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) services and drugs under a new mandatory benefit. As described in the announcement, “…as of October 1, 2020, states must include as part of the new MAT mandatory benefit all forms of drugs and biologicals that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved or licensed for MAT to treat OUD. More specifically, under the new mandatory MAT benefit, states are required to cover such FDA approved or licensed drugs and biologicals used for indications for MAT to treat OUD. States currently cover many of these MAT drugs and biologicals (for all medically-accepted indications) under the optional benefit for prescribed drugs described at section 1905(a)(12) of the Act.” The announcement also noted that further guidance from CMS on implementation issues will be released soon.