Prevalence of Opioid Use Disorder and Other Substance Use among Adolescents and Young Adults in Medicaid/CHIP, 2015–2019

Abstract

Among adolescents (ages 12–17) and young adults (ages 18–25) enrolled in Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), 0.5% of adolescents had opioid use disorder (OUD), 3.0% had other risky opioid use, 3.4% had another substance use disorder, and 21.6% used other substances without disorder. Compared to adolescents, the prevalence of OUD and other risky opioid use was about 3 and 2 times higher among young adult enrollees, among whom 1.6% had OUD and 5.8% had other risky opioid use. Among young adults, 8.6% had another SUD and 61.8% used other substances without disorder. Prevalence of OUD or other risky opioid use was substantially higher among Medicaid-enrolled youth with other substance use or health risk factors including more than double among those with fair or poor health, more than 3 times higher among those with heavy alcohol use, and more than 1.5 times higher among those with a major depressive episode. Results underscore the need to take a whole person approach to addressing risks for OUD.

Keywords:

• Opioid use disorder
• substance use disorder
• adolescents
• young adults
• Medicaid

Disclosure statement

The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts under a grant signed on January 17, 2020. The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Foundation for Opioid Response Efforts, the Urban Institute, trustees, or others. Funders do not determine research findings or the insights and recommendations of Urban Institute experts. Further information on the Urban Institute funding principles is available at https://www.urban.org/aboutus/funding-principles.