Did Medicaid expansion increase opioid addiction?

NY Times:

Blaming Medicaid for the Opioid Crisis: How the Easy Answer Can Be Wrong

The 31 states that expanded Medicaid saw a larger increase in drug overdoses. But what does that prove?

What it suggests is that more people sought treatment for pain and more opioids were prescribed.  Many of these drugs have an addictive effect.  They have a high uptick in pain relief, which wears off quickly leading a patient to overuse the drug.  Users could also be too low functioning to follow the prescribed dosage.

What should be inarguable is that Medicaid expansion increased access to this dangerous use of pain killers.  I think it can be argued that people in states that did not expand Medicaid are safer as a result.

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