Substance Use Disorder Policy and Care in a Time of Medicaid Change
Virtual Conference
Medicaid serves as the largest payer for substance use disorder (SUD) care treatment in the U.S. The changes from the federal “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) are expected to dramatically impact the program and the people it covers. Work requirements, eligibility changes, and state budget pressures will shape care delivery and patient outcomes.
The Center for Health Economics of Treatment Interventions for Substance Use Disorder, HCV, and HIV (CHERISH), and Penn’s Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics (Penn LDI) invite you to a virtual conference focused on strategies to preserve access in changing times. CHERISH and Penn LDI have gathered policymakers, researchers, and practitioners to explore options to help advance evidence-based SUD treatment under the new rules ahead.
Conference Agenda
1:00 p.m.
Welcome and Introductory Remarks
- Margaret Lowenstein, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor, Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine - Zachary Meisel, MD, MPH
Professor, Emergency Medicine and Director, Center for Emergency Care Policy and Research, Perelman School of Medicine
1:05 p.m.
Keynote Address
Federal Changes, Medicaid, and SUD Services: Meeting the Moment
- Chinazo Cunningham, MD, MS
Commissioner, New York Office of Addiction Services and Supports - Dan Gorenstein (moderator)
Founder and Executive Editor, Tradeoffs Podcast
1:45 p.m.
Forecasting Impacts of Medicaid Policy Change on SUD Outcomes Using Simulation Modeling
- Benjamin Linas, MD, MPH
Director, Population Data & Modeling Core, CHERISH; Professor, Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine
2:05 p.m.
Medicaid Work Requirements and People with SUD: Implementation Challenges and Opportunities
- Pete Croughan, MD
Deputy Secretary, Louisiana Department of Public Health - Farah Erzouki, MPH
Senior Policy Analyst, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities - Kristen Underhill, MSc, JD
Associate Dean, Faculty Research and Professor, Law, Cornell University - Paula Chatterjee, MD, MPH (moderator)
Director of Health Equity Research, Penn LDI;
Assistant Professor, Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine
2:55 p.m.
Cuts, Copays, Churn: Preserving Access to Care as Medicaid Changes
- Christina Andrews, PhD
Professor, Health Service Policy and Management, University of South Carolina - Lydia Gottesfeld, JD
Managing Attorney, Health & Independence Unit, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia - Arthur Robin Williams, MD, MBE
Chief Medical Officer, Ophelia - Beth McGinty, PhD, MS (moderator)
Co-Founding Director, Cornell Health Policy Center; Chief, Division of Health Policy and Economics; and Livingston Farrand Professor, Public Health at Weill Cornell Medicine
3:55 p.m.
Closing Remarks
- Margaret Lowenstein, MD, MSHP
Assistant Professor, Medicine, Perelman School of Medicine - Zachary Meisel, MD, MPH
Professor, Emergency Medicine and Director, Center for Emergency Care Policy and Research, Perelman School of Medicine
Conference Speakers
Chinazo Cunningham, MD, MS (keynote speaker)
Chinazo O. Cunningham, MD, MS, is Commissioner of the New York State Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS), where she oversees one of the nation’s largest systems of prevention, treatment, harm reduction, and recovery services for substance use disorder. A primary care and addiction medicine physician, Dr. Cunningham has more than 25 years of experience in clinical care, research, and public health leadership, with a career dedicated to expanding equitable access to evidence-based addiction treatment. Dr. Cunningham is a nationally recognized leader in addiction medicine and population health and has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.
Christina Andrews, PhD
Christina Andrews, PhD, is a Professor of Health Services Policy and Management at the University of South Carolina Arnold School of Public Health. Her research examines how public financing and Medicaid policy influence access to and quality of substance use disorder treatment, particularly for alcohol and opioid use disorders. Dr. Andrews currently leads NIH-funded national studies evaluating the effects of Medicaid managed care on treatment access and outcomes.
Paula Chatterjee, MD, MPH
Paula Chatterjee, MD, MPH, is an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania and a Senior Fellow at Penn LDI. A practicing general internist, her research focuses on health care safety-net financing, Medicaid policy, hospital payment reform, and health equity, with the goal of informing state and federal policy to improve care for low-income populations.
Pete Croughan, MD
Pete Croughan, MD, is Deputy Secretary of the Louisiana Department of Health, where he provides executive leadership across the state’s public health and health services programs. In this role, he contributes clinical expertise and strategic oversight to initiatives addressing chronic disease, behavioral health, infectious disease prevention, and health care access. Dr. Croughan’s work focuses on strengthening public health infrastructure and improving health outcomes for communities across Louisiana.
Farah Erzouki, MPH
Farah Erzouki, MPH, is a Senior Policy Analyst on the Health Policy team at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, where she focuses on Medicaid eligibility, enrollment, and implementation of federal and state policies affecting coverage access and continuity. Her work examines strategies to reduce administrative barriers, improve equity, and support effective implementation of new Medicaid rules. Prior to joining CBPP, Erzouki worked in applied research and public health practice on access to health coverage and opioid use disorder–related initiatives at the University of Chicago Health Lab. She holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Michigan.
Dan Gorenstein
Dan Gorenstein is the Founder and Executive Editor of Tradeoffs, a nonprofit journalism organization that explores the tough choices shaping the U.S. health care system. A veteran health policy reporter, he previously served as senior health care correspondent for Marketplace and spent more than a decade reporting for New Hampshire Public Radio. His work focuses on health system reform, cost, access, and equity, and has earned national recognition, including the Society of Professional Journalists’ Sigma Delta Chi Award. Through Tradeoffs, Gorenstein leads high-impact reporting and public conversations that inform policymakers, practitioners, and the public.
Lydia Gottesfeld, JD
Lydia Gottesfeld, JD, is the Managing Attorney of the Health & Independence Unit at Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, where she leads legal advocacy to secure health care, nutrition assistance, and long-term services for low-income individuals and people with disabilities. Her work includes direct representation, appellate advocacy, and systemic policy efforts to improve public benefits programs and promote health equity.
Benjamin Linas, MD, MPH
Benjamin P. Linas, MD, MPH, is the Director of the Population Data & Modeling Core at CHERISH and a Professor of Medicine at the Boston University Chobanian & Avedisian School of Medicine, where he also practices as an infectious diseases physician at Boston Medical Center. His research focuses on the comparative and cost-effectiveness of interventions for HIV, hepatitis C, and substance use disorder, with an emphasis on real-world implementation and policy relevance. Dr. Linas’s work uses simulation modeling to inform health system and payer decisions aimed at improving population health outcomes.
Margaret Lowenstein, MD, MSHP
Margaret (Maggie) Lowenstein, MD, MSHP, is a general internist, addiction medicine physician, and an Assistant Professor of Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine. Dr. Lowenstein’s research focuses on novel strategies for implementing evidence-based treatment and harm reduction interventions for opioid and other substance use disorders. She is interested in the delivery of substance use care in general medical settings as well as developing and studying low-barrier treatment models for substance use disorder. Dr. Lowenstein also co-chairs the Opioid Use Disorder Workgroup of the Penn Medicine Opioid Task Force and collaborates with partners in Philadelphia to disseminate best practices for opioid use disorder care.
Beth McGinty, PhD, MS
Beth McGinty, PhD, MS, is the Livingston Farrand Professor and Chief of the Division of Health Policy and Economics at Weill Cornell and Co-Founding Director of the Cornell Health Policy Center. She conducts research focused on how health policies impact populations with complex health needs, including people experiencing mental illness, substance use disorder, chronic pain, and others. Dr. McGinty’s work integrates approaches from public policy, health economics, and implementation science to understand how policies affect population health.
Zachary Meisel, MD, MPH
Zachary F. Meisel, MD, MPH, is the Vice Chair for Faculty, the Director of the Center for Emergency Care Policy and Research, and a Professor of Emergency Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine. He is the Co-Director of the Penn Injury Science Center and Director of Policy Dissemination Core at CHERISH. Dr. Meisel’s research interests include narrative translation methods, injury prevention, substance use disorder, medical communication, guideline adherence, opioid use disorder, patient safety, emergency medical services, and patient centered comparative effectiveness research.
Kristen Underhill, MSc, JD
Kristen Underhill, MSc, JD, is the Associate Dean for Faculty Research and Professor of Law at Cornell Law School. Her interdisciplinary scholarship examines how law and policy shape health behaviors and outcomes, drawing on methods from law and economics, empirical legal studies, and public health. Dr. Underhill leads NIH-funded research on topics including health care discrimination, consent capacity, prenatal and postpartum substance use policy, and HIV prevention, and holds an affiliated appointment with Weill Cornell Medicine’s Department of Population Health Sciences.
