CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK) – West Virginia just became the first state in the country where it’s Medicaid program can pay for Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome Treatment.
NAS occurs when a baby is born drug-dependent because his or her mother used drugs while pregnant. Now any baby, whose parents cannot afford private insurance, would be eligible for NAS treatment to be covered by Medicaid.
“The only individuals we were able to pay for were individuals that were in state custody. So now a baby that is suffering from NAS can go to that center without being in state custody and receiving Medicaid payment for the service,” Bureau of Medical Services Commissioner Cindy Beane told 13 News.
Beane says while it won’t happen overnight, she does expect new treatment centers to open across the state.
“Providers will have to look at where they want to open up a center, I think there is definitely the need, the need is definitely there. But it is an investment, they have to receive licensing, they have to be a Medicaid providers so there’s things a center would have to go through,” Beane added.
