Untreated Psychiatric and Substance Use Disorders Among Caregivers With Children Reported to Child Protective Services.

Importance: Mental and substance use disorders can interfere with parents' ability to care for their children and are associated with a greater likelihood of child protective services involvement to address child maltreatment. Parent engagement in psychiatric and substance use disorder treatment can prevent child maltreatment and family separations. Objective: To determine whether caregivers with psychiatric or substance use disorders whose children were referred to child protective services received Medicaid-funded psychiatric or substance use disorder treatment. Design, Setting, and Participants: Caregivers listed on child welfare records were linked with their Medicaid records using 2017 to 2020 Medicaid and child welfare data from Florida and Kentucky. Medicaid claims were analyzed to determine if caregivers had a psychiatric or substance use disorder diagnosis and whether those caregivers received counseling or medications. The analysis was conducted in 2023. Exposure: Diagnosis of a psychiatric or substance use disorder in 2020. Main Outcome and Measure: Receipt of psychiatric or substance use disorder counseling or medications. Results: Of the 58 551 caregivers, 65% were aged between 26 and 40 years; 69% were female and 31% were male. Overall, 78% identified as White, 20% identified as Black/African American, and less than 1% identified as American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, or Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander. In 2020, 59% of caregivers with Medicaid and children referred to child protective services had a mental health or substance use disorder diagnosis, compared with 33% of age- and sex-matched Medicaid beneficiaries without children referred to child protective services (P < .001). Among caregivers with a psychiatric disorder, 38% received counseling and 67% received psychiatric medication. Among those with a substance use disorder, 40% received counseling and 38% received a substance use disorder medication. Conclusions and Relevance: In this case-control study, despite Medicaid coverage of an array of effective behavioral health treatments, large portions of caregivers with Medicaid coverage, who need treatment and whose children were referred to child protective services, were not receiving treatment. Medicaid and child welfare agencies should make a greater effort to connect caregivers to behavioral health services.

Linked Child Welfare and Medicaid Data in Kentucky and Florida Highlights Racial Disparities in Access to Care.

Parents with serious mental health (MH) and substance use disorders (SUD) can face profound challenges caring for their children. MH/SUD treatment can improve outcomes for both parents and their children. This study evaluated whether parents with Medicaid with MH/SUD conditions whose children had child protective services (CPS) involvement were receiving MH/SUD treatment and whether receipt differed by race. We analyzed the 2020 Child and Caregiver Outcomes Using Linked Data (CCOULD) which contains Medicaid and child welfare records from Kentucky and Florida on 58,551 CPS-involved caregivers. Among caregivers with an MH diagnosis, White individuals were more likely than Black individuals to have received counseling (42% vs. 20%) or an MH medication (69% vs. 52%). Among caregivers with an SUD, White individuals were more likely than Black individuals to have received counseling (43% vs. 20%) or an SUD medication (43% vs. 11%). More effort is needed to connect parents with CPS involvement to MH/SUD treatment, particularly Black parents.

Association of Arizona's Implementation of a Behavioral Health Crisis Response System With Suicide Hospitalizations.

OBJECTIVE: In July 2022, the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline went live. The Lifeline is part of larger federal and state efforts to build comprehensive behavioral health crisis response systems that include mobile crisis units and crisis diversion and stabilization centers. Comprehensive response systems are anticipated to reduce hospitalizations for suicide and other behavioral health crises; however, research testing this assumption has been limited. The authors used Arizona-a state known for its comprehensive crisis system-to determine the association between state implementation of a comprehensive behavioral health crisis response system and suicide-related hospitalizations. METHODS: A comparative interrupted time-series (CITS) design was used to compare changes in suicide-related hospitalizations after the 2015 implementation of Arizona's crisis response system (N=215,063). Data were from the 2010-2019 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) State Inpatient Databases (SID). Nevada (N=84,091 hospitalizations) was used as a comparison state because it is a western state that had not yet implemented a comprehensive crisis system and had available HCUP SID data. The CITS model included controls for time-varying differences in state demographic composition. RESULTS: From 2010 to 2014 to 2019, annual suicide-related hospitalizations in Arizona increased from 122.0 to 324.2 to 584.5, respectively, per 100,000 people, and in Nevada, hospitalizations increased from 94.7 to 263.2 to 595.5, respectively, per 100,000 people. Arizona's crisis response system was associated with a significant relative decrease in the quarterly trend of 2.57 suicide-related hospitalizations per 100,000 people (p=0.033). CONCLUSIONS: More research is needed to understand how the implementation of a comprehensive crisis response system may affect suicide-related hospitalizations.

Improving Research on Racial Disparities in Access to Medications to Treat Opioid Use Disorders.

OBJECTIVES: The aims of the study are to review the current research on the association between access to medications for opioid use disorders (MOUD) and race, to identify gaps in research methods, and to propose new approaches to end racialized disparities in access to MOUD. METHODS: We conducted a literature review of English language peer-reviewed published literature from 2010 to 2021 to identify research studies examining the association between race and use of, or access to, MOUD. RESULTS: We reviewed 21 studies related to access to MOUD for Black and White populations. Of the 21 studies, 16 found that Black individuals had lower use of, or access to, MOUD than White individuals, 2 found the opposite among patients in specialty addiction treatment, 1 found that the difference changed over time, and 2 found that distance to opioid treatment programs was shorter for Black residents than for White residents. CONCLUSIONS: To improve future research, we recommend that researchers (1) be clearer on how race is conceptualized and interpreted; (2) explicitly evaluate the intersection of race and other factors that may influence access such as income, insurance status, and geography; (3) use measures of perceived racism, unconscious bias, and self-identified race; (4) collect narratives to better understand why race is associated with lower MOUD access and identify solutions; and (5) evaluate the effect of policies, programs, and clinical training on reducing racial disparities. A multitude of studies find that Black individuals have lower access to MOUD. Researchers must now identify effective solutions for reducing these disparities.

The United States must improve its data infrastructure to ensure high-quality mental health care.

Use of and spending on mental health services in the United States more than doubled over the past two decades. In 2019, 19.2% of adults received mental health treatment (medications and/or counseling) at a cost of $135 billion. Yet, the United States has no data collection system to determine what proportion of the population benefited from treatment. Experts have for decades called for a learning behavioral health care system: a system that collects data on treatment services and outcomes to generate knowledge to improve practice. As the rates of suicide, depression, and drug overdoses in the United States continue to rise, the need for a learning health care system becomes even more pressing. In this paper, I suggest steps to move toward such a system. First, I describe the availability of data on mental health service use, mortality, symptoms, functioning, and quality of life. In the United States, the best sources of longitudinal information on mental health services received are Medicare, Medicaid, and private insurance claims and enrollment data. Federal and state agencies are starting to link these data to mortality information; however, these efforts need to be substantially expanded and include information on mental health symptoms, functioning, and quality of life. Finally, there must be greater efforts to make the data easier to access such as through standard data use agreements, online analytic tools, and data portals. Federal and state mental health policy leaders should be at the forefront of efforts to create a learning mental health care system.

The cost of opioid use disorder-related conditions in Medicare.

BACKGROUND: Medicare coverage excludes some levels of substance use disorder (SUD) care, such as intensive outpatient and residential treatment. Expanding access to SUD treatment could increase Medicare spending. However, these costs could be offset if SUD treatment resulted in cost savings from reducing SUD-related medical events and SUD-related medical comorbidities. METHODS: This study estimated cost savings from expanding access to SUD treatment for persons with opioid use disorders (OUD) using three methods. First, we compared total Medicare fee-for-service spending on individuals with OUD and no treatment with OUD medications (MOUD) to Medicare spending on individuals without OUD after matching on age/sex/Medicare-Medicaid eligibility status. Second, we compared Medicare spending on individuals with OUD who received MOUD to spending individuals with OUD who did not receive MOUD. Third, we determined OUD-attributable Medicare spending for comorbid physical and mental conditions with a strong association with OUD. RESULTS: Beneficiaries with OUD but no MOUD totaled $15.8 billion more than beneficiaries without OUD. Beneficiaries with OUD but no MOUD totaled $12.1 billion more than individuals with OUD and MOUD. Lastly, Medicare spending on OUD-attributable comorbidities was $4.7 billion if all medical and mental health comorbidities were included and $3.0 billion with only medical comorbidities. The totals could be 1.7 times higher if Medicare Advantage enrollees were included. CONCLUSION: Expanding Medicare coverage of appropriate levels of care could improve access to effective treatment and reduce the costs associated with untreated OUD. This will likely result in substantial Medicare cost savings.

Development and validation of a claim-based provider-level measurement of use of medications to treat opioid use disorder.

OBJECTIVE: Medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD) is effective but underused. Measuring the percentage of a provider's patients with an opioid use disorder (OUD) who receive MOUD may drive quality improvement and stimulate greater use of medications. This study introduces and tests a provider-level measure of MOUD receipt. METHODS: The study used claims and enrollment data from 32 states in the 2014 Medicaid Analytic Extract to measure the proportion of a provider's patients who received MOUD within 30 days of their OUD diagnosis. The research team assessed measure reliability with several tests to establish the effect of provider on MOUD receipt; and assessed the validity by correlation with a measure of emergency department visits or hospitalizations related to substance use. RESULTS: The sample included 434,484 individuals treated for OUD by one or more of 9398 providers. The mean provider score was 38 %, indicating that 38 % of the average provider's patients received an MOUD within 30 days of an OUD diagnosis (44 % for clinicians [N = 5344] and 31 % for facilities [N = 4054]). Provider performance varied considerably. The interquartile ranges were 11 %-79 % and 9 %-45 % among clinicians and facilities, respectively. The measure reliably distinguished between lower- and higher-performing providers and demonstrated convergent validity, as indicated by a significant and moderately sized negative correlation between MOUD receipt and substance use-related hospitalizations or emergency department visits. CONCLUSIONS: The measure may help to improve access to MOUD and OUD outcomes by identifying providers who could benefit from technical assistance, quality improvement initiatives, and resources to expand MOUD prescribing.

Substance Use Disorders Among Medicare Beneficiaries: Prevalence, Mental and Physical Comorbidities, and Treatment Barriers.

INTRODUCTION: This study aimed to determine the prevalence of treated and untreated substance use disorders among Medicare beneficiaries, the characteristics of Medicare beneficiaries with substance use disorders, and reasons for their unmet needs. METHODS: This study used data from the National Survey of Drug Use and Health, 2015-2019. Substance use disorder was defined based on DSM-IV dependence or abuse criteria. Descriptive analyses were conducted in 2021, including testing for differences in unadjusted means. RESULTS: Approximately 1.7 million Medicare beneficiaries were estimated to have past-year substance use disorder (8% of Medicare beneficiaries aged <65 years and 2% aged ≥65 years). Overall, 77% had an alcohol use condition, 16% had a prescription drug use condition, and 10% had a marijuana use condition. Of those who had past-year substance use disorder, 11% received treatment for their condition. Common reasons for not receiving treatment were lack of motivation (41%), financial barriers (33%), concern about what others might think (24%), logistical barriers such as lack of transportation (21%), and uncertainty about treatment efficacy (13%). Medicare beneficiaries with substance use disorders were more than twice as likely to have past-year serious psychological distress as those without substance use disorders (44% vs 21%, p<0.001 for those aged <65 years; 14% vs 4%, p<0.001 for those aged ≥65 years). Percentages of past-year suicidal ideation were also much higher among Medicare beneficiaries with substance use disorders than without (24% vs 6%, p<0.001 for those aged <65 years; 7% vs 2%, p=0.006 for those aged ≥65 years). CONCLUSIONS: Few Medicare beneficiaries who need substance use disorder treatment receive it. Reducing Medicare coverage gaps and stigma may help meet this need.

The association of Medicare Part D prior authorization for buprenorphine-naloxone with adherence to opioid use disorder treatment guidelines in the United States.

AIMS: To assess differences in the quality of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment received by Medicare beneficiaries enrolled in health plans that used prior authorization (PA) for buprenorphine-naloxone compared with those enrolled in plans that did not use PA. DESIGN, SETTING AND PARTICIPANTS: Cross-sectional observational study, United States. Continuously enrolled beneficiaries (71 294) with an OUD who filled at least one prescription for buprenorphine-naloxone between March 2012 and July 2017. MEASUREMENTS: Percentage of patients tested for hepatis B, hepatis C, HIV and liver functioning; percentage of patients with urine drug screens and number of urine drug screens; continuous use of buprenorphine-naloxone for at least 180 days; co-use of benzodiazepines; number of outpatient visits with and without an OUD diagnosis. FINDINGS: PA was significantly associated with a lower likelihood of testing for hepatitis B [-3.5, 95% confidence interval (CI) = -4.4, -2.7] and C (-5.9, 95% CI = -6.9, -4.9), but the findings were inconclusive as to whether or not there was a difference in HIV (-1.1, 95% CI = -2.5, 0.4) or liver function testing (1.3, 95% CI = -0.1, 2.7). PA was associated with a lower likelihood of urine drug screening (-25.5, 95% CI = -26.8, -24.1) and with fewer drug screens (-2.5, 95% CI = -3.0, -2.1). Findings were inconclusive as to whether or not there was a difference in continuous use of buprenorphine-naloxone (0.3, 95% CI = -1.2, 1.8). PA was associated with fewer outpatient visits (-2.1, 95% CI = -3.0, -1.2) and fewer outpatient visits with an OUD diagnosis (-1.7, 95% CI = -2.1, -1.3). PA was associated with a lower likelihood of filling benzodiazepine prescriptions before and after buprenorphine-naloxone induction (-28.9, 95% CI = -29.6, -28.3) but a greater likelihood of only using benzodiazepines after buprenorphine-naloxone induction (10.6, 95% CI = 9.3, 11.8). CONCLUSIONS: US Medicare patients subject to prior authorization for buprenorphine-naloxone are not more likely to receive high-quality treatment for opioid use disorder than patients not subject to prior authorization.

What's in an "ASAM-based Assessment?" Variations in Assessment and Level of Care Determination in Systems Required to Use ASAM Patient Placement Criteria.

OBJECTIVES: When clients begin substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, it is critical to ensure that they receive treatment that matches their needs and preferences. A growing number of payors are requiring the use of multidimensional assessments such as assessments based on the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria, which describe 6 dimensions that should be used to inform decisions about patient placement. However, ASAM guidance does not list specific questions to ask or instruments to use to elicit this information. This paper evaluates differences among the assessment tools being used by SUD service systems that are required to use ASAM-based assessments to make patient placement decisions. METHODS: We analyzed 29 different ASAM-based assessments being used by California counties to make patient placement decisions using conventional and summative content analysis techniques. RESULTS: All assessments were organized by the 6 ASAM dimensions. However, some of them only ask 1 or 2 questions per dimension, while others ask over 20, and some ask over 100 depending on patient responses. There is significant heterogeneity in the information the assessments collect and how it is used to generate patient placement decisions. Among the 29 assessments examined, there are 8 different algorithms or instructions on how to translate information from assessments into level of care recommendations. CONCLUSIONS: The differences among the ASAM-based assessments examined in this paper suggest a need to implement fidelity standards, enhance training, and create resources to help systems create and utilize assessment and patient placement tools that are consistent across the SUD treatment field.

Development, Testing, and Dissemination of a Public-Facing Tool to Help Consumers Find Higher-Quality Addiction Treatment.

OBJECTIVE: The authors aimed to describe the development and testing of quality measures included in a public-facing addiction treatment facility search engine. METHODS: An addiction treatment facility survey was created that queried providers in six U.S. states about whether they offered the services and used the processes identified by federal agencies and nonprofit organizations as signs of higher-quality addiction treatment. Four insurance claims-based quality measures were created to capture the percentage of a provider's patients with opioid use disorder receiving opioid use disorder medications, who filled prescriptions for such medication for at least 180 days, who received follow-up care after treatment for substance use disorder in inpatient or residential settings, or who had a substance use disorder-related hospitalization or emergency department visit. A patient experience-of-care survey captured patients' perceptions of the quality of the addiction treatment. The project was undertaken from November 2018 through July 2020. RESULTS: The authors tested the measures by using 1,245 facility surveys, 7,970 patients' experience-of-care surveys, and four claims-based measures submitted by 129, 136, 283, and 408 addiction treatment providers. Statistical testing demonstrated that the quality measures were reliable and valid. The quality measure scores varied among providers, capturing a wide performance range. A public website containing quality measures launched in July 2020 in the six states and has been accessed by thousands of consumers. CONCLUSIONS: This study developed valid, reliable, and useful addiction treatment quality measures. Dissemination of these measures may help consumers select among providers and help providers, policy makers, and payers improve quality.

Assessing Assessments: Substance use disorder treatment providers' perceptions of intake assessments.

Background: Assessments to determine patients' treatment needs and preferences when they begin substance use disorder (SUD) treatment are essential. The objectives of this paper are to identify the perspectives of providers who conduct assessments on (1) assessments' utility in determining the level of care where patients will receive treatment, (2) strategies to engage patients in treatment during assessments, and (3) assessment strengths and shortcomings. Methods: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 30 California treatment providers who routinely perform SUD assessments for Medicaid beneficiaries. Interviews asked about the utility of assessment tools in determining appropriate levels of care, patient engagement during assessments, and strengths and shortcomings of intake assessment processes. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and analyzed by multiple researchers using template analysis. Results: Providers reported that assessments linked to level-of-care decision rules sometimes generate recommendations inconsistent with their clinical judgment, and that the timing of assessments can influence the quality of the information collected. Providers described engagement strategies that help patients feel more comfortable during assessments and that encourage more thoughtful and accurate responses. Providers valued assessments that helped ensure comprehensive collection of patient information, that allowed flexibility to probe for additional information and context, and that facilitated treatment planning. Providers did not like assessments that were long and repetitive or those that did not collect detailed information about patients' mental health and recovery environments. Conclusions: Assessments can be improved if providers conduct them in a manner that makes patients feel comfortable while building trust and rapport. Ensuring that assessments are not long or repetitive and giving comprehensive assessments once patients have developed trusting relationships with treatment programs can improve assessment processes. Further research is needed to optimize SUD assessments.

Addiction Treatment and Telehealth: Review of Efficacy and Provider Insights During the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: Addiction treatment via telehealth expanded to unprecedented levels during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to clarify whether the research evidence on the efficacy of telehealth-delivered substance use disorder treatment and the experience of providers using telehealth during the pandemic support continued use of telehealth after the pandemic and, if so, under what circumstances. METHODS: Data sources included a literature review on the efficacy of telehealth for substance use disorder treatment, responses to a 2020 online survey from 100 California addiction treatment providers, and interviews with 30 California treatment providers and other stakeholders. RESULTS: Eight published studies were identified that compared addiction treatment via telehealth with in-person treatment. Seven found telehealth treatment as effective but not more effective than in-person treatment in terms of retention, therapeutic alliance, and substance use. One Canadian study found that telehealth facilitated methadone prescribing and improved retention. In the survey results reported here, California addiction treatment providers said that more than 50% of their patients were being treated via telehealth for intensive outpatient treatment, individual counseling, group counseling, and intake assessment. They were most confident that individual counseling via telehealth was as effective as in-person individual counseling and less sure about the relative effectiveness of telehealth-delivered medication management, group counseling, and intake assessments. CONCLUSIONS: Telehealth may help engage patients in addiction treatment by improving access and convenience. Additional research is needed to confirm that benefit and to determine how best to tailor telehealth to each patient's circumstances and with what mix of in-person and telehealth services.

Is implementation of ASAM-based addiction treatment assessments associated with improved 30-day retention and substance use?

BACKGROUND: The American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) criteria were developed to provide a systematic, evidence-based, and transparent approach to addiction treatment assessment and level-of-care recommendations. In 2017, California began a Medicaid demonstration that required that providers in participating counties to adopt ASAM-based intake assessments and level-of-care criteria. We hypothesized that ASAM implementation would increase the proportion of patients retained in addiction treatment and successfully completing their treatment plan. METHODS: We implemented a comparative interrupted time series analysis with 407,792 treatment episodes by Medicaid beneficiaries in specialty addiction treatment settings from 2015 to mid-2019. We compared the change in retention rates and successful completion rates in counties that adopted ASAM-based assessments relative to counties that did not adopt ASAM-based assessments and used only clinical judgment for level-of-care decisions. Treatment retention was defined as staying in addiction treatment for at least 30 days. Successful completion of the treatment plan was determined by the patient's clinician. RESULTS: After one year, ASAM implementation was associated with a 9% increase in 30-day retention among treatment episodes that started in a residential setting, but no change in retention among episodes starting in outpatient settings. We found no statistically significant association between ASAM adoption and successful treatment completion. CONCLUSIONS: Implementation of ASAM-based assessment may lead to improved retention for individuals who begin treatment in residential treatment, which may be encouraging to the many state Medicaid programs that are adopting ASAM-based criteria. More research is needed to clarify the mechanism by which ASAM leads to improved outcomes and to clarify how to maximize the potential benefits of ASAM, such as through patient-centered implementation.

Impact of the Coronavirus Pandemic on Substance Use Disorder Treatment: Findings from a Survey of Specialty Providers in California.

BACKGROUND: As the coronavirus pandemic public health emergency begins to ebb in the United States, policymakers and providers need to evaluate how the addiction treatment system functioned during the public health emergency and draw lessons for future emergencies. One important question is whether the pandemic curtailed the use of addiction treatment and the extent to which telehealth was able to mitigate access barriers. METHODS: To begin to answer this question, we conducted a survey of specialty addiction treatment providers in California from June 2020 through July 2020. The survey focused specifically on provider organizations that served Medicaid beneficiaries. RESULTS: Of the 133 respondents, 50% reported a decrease in patients since the stay-at-home order in March 2020, with the largest decline among new patients, and 58% said more patients were relapsing. Eighty-one percent of providers said that telemedicine use had increased since the stay-at-home order. Most said that telemedicine had moderately (48%) or completely (30%) addressed access barriers. CONCLUSION: More efforts are needed to ensure that patients, and in particular new patients, receive addiction treatment during public health emergencies.

Prior Authorization for Opioid Use Disorder Versus Pain Medications: Lessons Learned for Parity Enforcement.

OBJECTIVE: This study characterized the use of prior authorization for opioid use disorder medications as compared with that for opioid pain medications in the United States among Medicare Part D plans. METHOD: Medicare Part D formulary data from 2017-2019 were used to describe differences in prior authorization between opioid use disorder medications and opioid pain medications. RESULTS: In 2017, 72% of Medicare Part D formularies required prior authorization for brand buprenorphine-naloxone, whereas 6% of formularies required prior authorization for brand oxycodone. In 2019, 3% of formularies required prior authorization for brand buprenorphine-naloxone, whereas 16% of formularies required prior authorization for brand oxycodone. Throughout the study period, other formulary restrictions such as quantity limits were similar for both medications. CONCLUSIONS: The disparate use of prior authorization in 2017 for opioid use disorder medications as compared with opioid pain medications suggests that formulary decision making may be inconsistent between medications used to treat substance use disorders and those used to treat pain. If Part D formularies publicly released their decision-making criteria, then there would be a greater understanding of why prior authorization was differentially applied. Greater transparency would help ensure that formulary decisions are not the result of biases and stigma toward substance use disorders.

"The assessment really helps you with the first step in recovery." What do clients think substance use disorder treatment intake assessments should look like?

Background: In general, research has found that patient-centered substance use disorder treatment is positively correlated with improved patient outcomes. However, little research has examined what factors make intake assessments-the first step in addiction treatment-patient-centered. Methods: We conducted interviews with 30 Medicaid-enrolled individuals who received addiction treatment in California about their experiences with the intake assessment process. Results: Participants reported that the intake assessment process evoked strong feelings, both positive and negative. Some participants said that answering detailed questions about their substance use, mental health, and social relationships, for example, was cathartic and gave them helpful insights. Other participants found the questions invasive, exhausting, and anxiety provoking. Participants also emphasized how critical it is for the person conducting the assessment to be supportive, nonjudgmental, and attentive. Participants recommended delaying the comprehensive assessment because they did not feel physically or emotionally ready to complete the intake. Conclusions and recommendations: Patients' introduction to addiction treatment is typically the intake assessment. By understanding how patients experience intake assessments, providers can make the process more patient-centered, which may lead to improved patient outcomes.

How Patient Centered Are Addiction Treatment Intake Processes?

OBJECTIVES: The substance use disorder (SUD) treatment field has conducted significant research on creating intake tools and processes that best match patients to the most appropriate treatment setting, but less research has been conducted on how those tools impact the patient experience. The study took advantage of a natural experiment in California to evaluate whether the implementation of American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) assessment criteria and a computer-facilitated intake assessment based on the ASAM criteria affects patient experiences and patient-centeredness during intake relative to patients receiving intake assessments not based on ASAM criteria. METHODS: We analyzed surveys completed by 851 patients covered by Medi-Cal who were receiving specialty SUD treatment at 33 providers across 10 California counties about their experiences and perceptions of the intake assessment process. To account for differences in patient mix, we used inverse-probability weighting and computed differences in the weighted means for patients across non-ASAM, ASAM, and computerized-ASAM patients. RESULTS: We have found that patients who underwent intake based on ASAM assessment criteria or computerized ASAM assessment experienced a more patient-centered intake. We also found that patients who received ASAM-based assessments were more satisfied with their choice of treatment setting. CONCLUSIONS: This evidence is encouraging for the SUD treatment field, especially considering that many Medicaid programs are adopting ASAM or similar patient placement criteria and multidimensional assessments. Future research should consider whether increases in the patient-centeredness of assessments are associated with increased retention in SUD treatment and other positive treatment outcomes.