New York State's Substance-Use Disorder Services During COVID-19

In early 2020, as COVID-19 spread to the United States, federal and state policymakers responded with extraordinary changes to policy, regulations, and guidelines. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo put the state on "pause," closing nonessential businesses to the public and sending nonessentia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Policy File 2021
Main Authors: Strach, Patricia, Perez-Chiques, Elizabeth, Zuber, Katie
Format: Report
Language:English
Subjects:
COVID-19
Drugs
Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government
Online Access:Request full text
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Summary:In early 2020, as COVID-19 spread to the United States, federal and state policymakers responded with extraordinary changes to policy, regulations, and guidelines. New York Governor Andrew Cuomo put the state on "pause," closing nonessential businesses to the public and sending nonessential employees home in March and laying out a series of guidelines for social distancing and personal protective equipment (PPE) shortly thereafter. At the same time, federal and state agencies overseeing substance-use disorder services relaxed stringent requirements for what could be provided (increased methadone take-home dosages), how services could be provided (allowing a wide range of telepractice services via video and audio), and shelving burdensome requirements (including in-person physical exams and frequent toxicology screenings). In this report, we examine what happened to New York State's substance-use disorder services during the COVID-19 pandemic. How did COVID-19 affect the range of substance-use disorder services? What policy changes allowed for the safe and efficient provision of substance-use disorder services and which ones did not? And, what practices should be pursued moving forward? To answer these questions, we partnered with the Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Providers of New York State (ASAP) to conduct a series of nine focus groups with providers and clients (81 total participants).