In 2019, the number of drug overdose deaths in the United States declined, suggesting that the efforts of state and local governments, providers and other stakeholders to stem the crisis of drug-related deaths are beginning to have some effect. But there is much more work to do: Over 70,000 individuals in this country still die each year from drug overdoses.

In a new toolkit prepared for Arnold Ventures, Manatt Health reviews promising strategies that state Medicaid programs are adopting to address the substance use disorder (SUD) crisis, specifically the opioid epidemic. The paper identifies implementation strategies and action steps and provides examples of implementation tools deployed in leader states.