In Kentucky, it was very easy to be prescribed addictive drugs but there are significant barriers to receive addiction treatment:
- APAC and PAR believe the prior-authorization (PA) is the single greatest barrier for all treatments in Kentucky for Substance Use Disorder (SUD)
- The prior authorization (PA) for addiction treatment creates an immediate and potentially dangerous barrier for those seeking treatment
- When someone suffering from addiction has a ‘moment of clarity’ to commit to getting help they should have access without delay
- In some cases, a healthcare provider will recommend a level of care which is rejected, and a lower level is then approved. This is referred to as a “fail first”
- When someone suffering from opioid use disorder is waiting on approval for addiction treatment there is no guarantee they make it back based on the lethality of opioids.
- APAC advocates that an appropriate, immediate and streamlined approach is created to alleviate the wait for the prior-authorization process