What Is a Methadone Clinic?
A methadone clinic is an opioid treatment program, or OTP. It's a clinic certified by SAMHSA, the federal substance use agency, to treat opioid use disorder with medication. Outside a hospital, a certified OTP is the only place that can dispense methadone for opioid addiction, so you can't fill a methadone prescription for opioid use disorder at a regular pharmacy.
OTPs also provide counseling and medical care. Federal rules (42 CFR 8.12) require every program to make counseling available to its patients. Since the 2024 rule update, counseling is recommended, but a clinic can't deny you treatment because you choose not to take part. Many OTPs also offer buprenorphine, and some offer naltrexone.
How Methadone Dosing Works
Methadone is taken once a day, most often as a liquid. When you start, you'll usually go to the clinic each day and take your dose there while staff watch. Those early weeks are when your care team adjusts the dose until withdrawal and cravings ease.
Take-home doses come once you're stable. Under the federal rules updated in 2024, a clinic can give up to 7 take-home doses in the first 14 days of treatment, up to 14 from day 15, and up to a 28-day supply from day 31, when your care team decides it's safe. Your state or clinic may set tighter limits, so ask about take-home policies at intake.
The National Institute on Drug Abuse recommends at least 12 months of methadone treatment, and some people stay on it long term. Coming off methadone is done gradually, with the clinic lowering your dose over time to prevent withdrawal.
Does Medicaid Cover Methadone?
Yes. State Medicaid programs are required to cover all FDA-approved medications for opioid use disorder, methadone included, along with counseling. The requirement took effect in October 2020, and Congress made it permanent in 2024. Medicare Part B also covers methadone and buprenorphine when you get them through an opioid treatment program.
Private insurance coverage depends on your plan, and copays and deductibles still apply. Of the 1,589 programs listed here, 1,324 list Medicaid as a payment option. If you're uninsured, ask the clinic whether it has a sliding fee scale or payment assistance.
Suboxone Clinics and Suboxone Doctors
Suboxone is a brand of buprenorphine combined with naloxone. People often search for a "Suboxone clinic" or a "Suboxone doctor," but buprenorphine doesn't require a specialty clinic. Since the federal waiver requirement ended in December 2022, any clinician whose DEA registration covers Schedule III drugs can prescribe buprenorphine for opioid use disorder where state law allows. That includes many primary care doctors, nurse practitioners and physician assistants.
Methadone clinics are one place to get it. 1,265 of the 1,589 opioid treatment programs on these pages list buprenorphine among their services, and the state table below shows how many offer it in each state. Our listings don't include every office-based prescriber, so FindTreatment.gov is worth checking too.
Buprenorphine is a partial opioid agonist, which means its opioid effects are weaker than methadone's. To start it, you generally need to be in early withdrawal, usually 12 to 24 hours after your last opioid use. Starting sooner can bring on sudden withdrawal. Once you're stable, you fill prescriptions at a pharmacy instead of dosing at a clinic.