The Criteria for addiction services published by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) is the widely acknowledged standard for addiction treatment across the United States. ASAM updated the Criteria in late 2023, the first significant modification to the guidelines in 10 years. This paper explores considerations for state agencies involved with Medicaid, health, and insurance that are considering the updated ASAM Criteria and potential future changes. We discuss: 

• The history of ASAM and adoption as best practice
• The ASAM Criteria updates
• What states should consider following the updates