Substance abuse is a major public health problem. Medicaid clients are more likely than people with other types of insurance to have chemical dependency problems. As it happens, Medicaid is now a major payer for substance abuse treatment services. Medicaid's share of substance abuse treatment payments nearly doubled from ten percent in 1986. At the moment, Medicaid exceeds the Federal substance abuse block grant program in funding for chemical dependency treatment and is itself exceeded only by state and local payments. This book presents information on Medicaid and its position in providing treatment for those with substance abuse problems.

People with substance abuse problems often depend on Medicaid to pay for treatment. Health Care Reform, as specified in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010, will increase the importance of Medicaid as a payment system for chemical dependency care. Now entering its second 50 years, Medicaid is a unique partnership of federal and state agencies financing health care services for low income people. This book is an invaluable resource for patients, family members, clinicians, administrators, and policy-makers concerned about ways to pay for addiction treatment. Written by national experts, the book summarises the provisions of Medicaid of most relevance to substance abuse treatment, reviews the pertinent history of this complex and ever changing program, and describes key findings from numerous "natural experiments" such as the implementation of Medicaid managed behavioural health care as well as cutbacks in Medicaid coverage.