medicaid, a new clinic, and suboxone

[Nora Barnacle]

Hello, all.
I apologize if I ask any redundant questions--I am new to this forum and to methadone maintenance.

I recently began treatment at a methadone clinic in Hawaii after one and a half years of illicit prescription drug addiction. I was paying out of pocket at this clinic for a month before I got state health insurance (medicaid I suppose is what this is called). I am on a low methadone dose (20mg) and will be switching over to suboxone soon. Oddly enough, I took this drug without a prescription for several months, and I am looking forward to the switch.

Just as things were beginning to smooth out, my plans have changed. I am thinking of moving to Chico, CA to be near family in a couple of months. Here are some questions I have:

Has anyone with medicaid ever moved out-of-state before? I know my plan does not cover treatment in any state but Hawaii. I am not sure what to do for insurance there, and because suboxone is so expensive, I cannot move until I figure something out. I am thinking of even paying for health insurance out of pocket with student loan money... I don't think I will be in CA long enough to obtain residency.

Do any suboxone users reccomend that I try to find another clinic in CA that prescribes suboxone? Or should I try finding a doctor that can prescribe it?

How does courtesy dosing work? Is this an option for me? Should I stay on methadone instead of switching to suboxone? Methadone makes me irritable and tired and I would rather make the switch.

I know I need to talk these things over my counselor at my clinic, but I was wondering what you guys have to say. Thanks in advance to anyone who reads this and has any insight into one or more of these questions.

[smjatz]

Hi Nora. Others on here can probably answer your questions more accurately than I can. I just wanted to say you can be screened for benefits online for the state you are moving to by going to www.medicaidUSA.com you can at least get screened to see if you will qualify I believe Ca's medicaid is called Medi-Cal

I am on 60mg methadone, and doing good. I have only taken suboxone when I couldn't find anything else, so I wouldn't be sick. So, I can't advise on that.

I also don't travel so don't know much about guest dosing, either. Sorry. Goodluck to you, there are people on here who know their stuff when it comes to methadone, suboxone and everything about these awesome medications!

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Jennifer

[Nora Barnacle]

Thank you for the great link, smjatz. And yes, the posters here do seem to know their stuff (and you, too!). I spent all of last night reading different posts.

For anyone else who might read this, when I said, "I took this drug without a prescription [illicitly] for several months..." I meant subxone, not methadone. Not to say I didn't take methadone when it came my way. You know how it goes--whatever you can get...

Even though I am recovery newb, suboxone is a great drug for people who have trouble with drug cravings even if they are not withdrawing--after you learn that you cannot get "high" if you take Oxycontin or other opiates while on it, your cravings go away. Or at least, mine did.

[asia]

Hey Nora, Are you planning on staying in Cali, or just visiting for an extended period of time? Guest dosing or courtesy dosing is usually for a rather short period of time-for one thing, you have to pay your home clinic AND the out of town clinic which gets expensive. I am not sure how Medicaid works with guest dosing, they probably will pay one, but not both...(is my guess).

I tried to get on suboxone so that I wouldn't have to return to a clinic. I found a Dr who a prescriber, made an appoitnment, he induced me and wrote me month long Rx. Depending on where you are, the numbers of DR's who are eligible to prescribe may vary wildly. You can find a Doc to prescribe by searching at this link http://buprenorphine.samhsa.gov/bwns_locator/
If you are planning on returning to Hawaii eventually, or periodically, maybe you could find a good Doc who would work with you from Hawaii... especailly if you could show that you were engaging in some other recovery services or activites in Cali
Payment for suboxone with medicaid is something I can't speak on with any experience or authority Didn't someone else supply a link for searching FAQ's re: medicaid bene's?...Good luck, & keep us posted on what you find out!

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Asia

[Nora Barnacle]

Thanks for your response, Asia. I am planning on being there for a full semester (Spring) and may stay through the summer. It sounds like courtesty dosing is not the option for me...

I found this link on medicaid benefits by state. Is this the site you were thinking of?

http://medicaidbenefits.kff.org/

I hope everyone is having a beautiful weekend

[asia]

HI Nora! No that link you posted wasn't the one I was thinking of (although that is a great site and I am keeping it for future reference!)
The link I was trying to post was a provider search engine for Doctors who prescribe bupenorphrine AKA suboxone.
I am not sure how inter-state Medicaid benefits work...you'll want to be very clear about that cuz suboxone was pretty expensive if you have to pay out of pocket...

I went ahead and went to that site and searched in Cali for Doctors. There are about 1205 prescribing Docs in the state. I am cutting and pasting the doctors in Chico for you here.
The info is a little squished after cut'n'pasting it but I think it is still legible. (Name, Address and phone # in that order...)

Edward A O'Regan, M.D. 564 Rio Lindo Avenue
Chico, CA 95926 (530) 898-8326

Munish Lal, M.D. 274 Cohasset Road
Chico, CA 95926 (530) 891-0352

Russell Warren Cottrell, M.D. V.A. Outpatient Clinic
254 Cohasset Rd., Suite 30
Chico, CA 95926 (530) 879-5050

Ahmed Ibrahim Abouesh, M.D. 1550 Humbdolt Road
Suite 3
Chico, CA 95928 (530) 899-3150

Ahmed Ibrahim Abouesh, M.D. 3255 Esplanade
Chico, CA 95973 (530) 899-3150

David Elliot Altman, M.D. 20 Constitution Drive
Suite B
Chico, CA 95973 (530) 898-1100

Brandan Stark, D.O. 100 Independence Circle
Chico, CA 95973 (530) 899-2126

Like I said these are just the CHico area ones...there are many many more in other areas. Hope this helps.
Best
~Asia

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Asia

[Nora Barnacle]

Thanks so much! I think I might do some research on inter-state medicaid benefits by calling some of these doctors. Who knows insurance better than doctors, right? I will let you guys know what I find out.

[mac]