Data on Managed Care Described by Researchers at University of Nevada Reno (Clinician-Level Variation in MAUD Prescribing: The Role of Behavioral Health Experience): Managed Care

2026 OCT 05 (NewsRx) -- By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Insurance Daily News -- Investigators discuss new findings in Managed Care. According to news originating from Reno, Nevada, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, “Less than 10% of Medicaid patients diagnosed with AUD in the USA received medication treatment for AUD (MAUD), despite its proven clinical effectiveness. Documenting clinician MAUD prescribing patterns can suggest solutions.”

Our news journalists obtained a quote from the research from the University of Nevada Reno, “Do clinicians with behavioral health (BH) experience have higher rates of MAUD prescribing in a Medicaid program in a state with a low supply of clinicians? This cross-sectional study used Nevada Medicaid professional and pharmacy claims data (2016-2019) to identify 7003 clinicians who prescribed to patients with alcohol use disorder (AUD). BH experience (exposure) was determined by (1) BH specialty from taxonomy, (2) BH patient volume above the median number of BH patients (n = 15), and (3) buprenorphine prescribing during the study period. Logistic regressions estimated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) for any prescribing, controlling for clinician characteristics. Zero-inflated negative binomial regressions estimated incidence rate ratios for the number of MAUD-prescribed patients and MAUD prescriptions. Only 8% (n = 541) of the study cohort prescribed MAUD. Clinicians with BH experience had higher odds of prescribing MAUD: those with BH specialty versus primary care (aOR 7.6, 95% CI 5.8-9.9), those who prescribed buprenorphine versus those who did not (aOR 3.9, 95% CI 2.9-5.3), and those with high versus low BH patient volume (aOR 6.1, 95% CI 4.4-8.4). Clinicians with BH experience had significantly higher counts of MAUD-prescribed patients and MAUD prescriptions than other clinicians. Amid MAUD underuse, clinicians with BH experience were instrumental MAUD prescribers for Nevada’s Medicaid population.”

According to the news editors, the research concluded: “Expanding BH and primary care integration/colocation, increasing the BH workforce, and providing additional BH training in primary care could improve MAUD access.”

This research has been peer-reviewed.

For more information on this research see: Clinician-Level Variation in MAUD Prescribing: The Role of Behavioral Health Experience. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 2026. The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research can be contacted at: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

The news correspondents report that additional information may be obtained from Sarah A. Friedman, School of Public Health, University of Nevada Reno, Reno, NV, United States. Additional authors for this research include Ying Guo, Lex Owen, Lung-Chang Chien, Stephanie Woodard and Michelle S. Keller.

The publisher’s contact information for the The Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research is: Springer, One New York Plaza, Suite 4600, New York, Ny, United States.

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