Aug 28, 2018 - Health

The intersection of Medicaid and opioids

A bottle of oxycodone.

A bottle of oxycodone. Photo: Education Images/UIG via Getty Images

New research in JAMA Network Open finds the Affordable Care Act's expansion of Medicaid to more low-income people did not significantly change painkiller prescriptions, and may have increased access to a drug that helps with opioid addiction.

The bottom line: Medicaid expansion is still not the cause of the opioid crisis.

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