How Medicaid Powers Addiction Treatment: Care, Coverage and Consequences

Friday, April 24, 2026

3:15 PM - 4:30 PM PT

Location: Harbor A-C, Level 2

Presenter(s)

Sherry Nykiel, MD

Behavioral Health Medical Director
Delaware Division of Medicaid and Medical Assistance
Media, Pennsylvania

Slides
Brian Hurley, MD, M.B.A., FAPA, DFASAM

Medical Director
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health
Los Angeles, California

Medicaid finances most addiction treatment in the U.S., yet few clinicians fully understand how it works. This workshop breaks down Medicaid’s structure, funding, and future under House Resolution 1 through interactive discussion and case examples from Delaware and Los Angeles County. Learn how these policies shape access, reimbursement, and outcomes in real-world addiction care.

Learning Objectives:

Learners will be able to:

Describe how Medicaid’s financing and structure influence access, reimbursement, and delivery of substance use disorder treatment across diverse systems and populations.
Compare Delaware’s integrated Medicaid model and Los Angeles County’s decentralized Medi-Cal system to show how design differences affect coverage, workforce capacity, and outcomes.
Analyze proposed policy changes under House Resolution 1 and identify advocacy strategies to sustain equitable, evidence-based addiction treatment and system stability.

Disclosure(s):

Sherry Nykiel, MD: No financial relationships to disclose

Brian Hurley, MD, M.B.A., FAPA, DFASAM: No financial relationships to disclose