A new report for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows a lot more people could be getting help from the opioid overdose reversal drug Narcan, but states are rarely using Medicaid to cover it.
The findings show that 5 percent of narcan treatments in the U.S. are covered by Medicaid. This trend holds true in New Hampshire, which has some of the highest overdose death rates in the country. Bahar Adili helped write the report.
"We found this very concerning because individuals who could be saved by having Naloxone on hand may not be getting the drug," she said.
Adili recommends that doctors prescribing pain killers should also prescribe overdose reversal drugs. She also says the state should allow friends and family members of Medicaid users to have access to Narcan nasal spray
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