In response to the national opioid epidemic, 30 U.S health systems have decided to partner on a multi-faceted initiative aiming to expand access to treatment, confront the cultural stigma of addiction, and provide new solutions for their communities.
Across the U.S., 23.4 million Americans are suffering from drug use disorder and substance use disorder. As such, notable national figures such as John Kasich, former Ohio governor, and former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of The Kennedy Forum and former member of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, joined the health systems and a select group of payers to kick off this work, which marks the fourth area of focus for the Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP), a collaborative effort to transform healthcare and the related social needs for the nearly 75 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, and other vulnerable populations.
MTP first launched in August 2018 and since its inception has seen more than 100 projects initiated across 30 health systems to address community-based care, behavioral health, and maternal and infant health. The initiative is co-led by former Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Andy Slavitt and AVIA, a Chicago-based digital health innovation network.
As Healthcare Innovation reported last year, the initial work being done by MTP centered on improving linkages from the ED to other critical parts of the delivery system, namely primary care, behavioral health, specialty care, and social services and supports. The work for the substance use disorder and women and infant care challenge areas were the next two phases, Slavitt and David Smith, Medicaid Transformation Project executive at AVIA, told the publication last May.
MTP officials noted that as many as one in five Medicaid beneficiaries experiences SUD and/or a mental health condition, and this accounts for 46 percent of the total Medicaid spending on healthcare services. What’s more, the cultural stigma associated with addiction also poses a unique challenge as it hampers the healthcare industry’s understanding of the issue and impedes patients’ access to effective treatment, they contend.
As such, health systems in the Project “are focusing on innovative care models and digital tools designed to improve the screening and diagnoses of substance use disorder in patients, and aid in the development of personalized care plans to engage patients in treatment,” they said.
The Substance Use Disorder Initiative launched in December with an Action Forum in Chicago, inclusive of more than 100 leaders from many of the country’s most innovative health systems and national leaders. The launch, according to MTP executives, “signifies the start of a multi-month effort to identify, select, implement, and scale solutions that transform the role health systems play in treatment and recovery.”
For this Action Forum specifically, MTP analyzed more than 130 solutions available in the substance use arena to create a shortlist of 12 digital solutions and care models that were then profiled at the Forum. These solutions are designed to support outpatient treatment expansion, prevention and early detection of substance use disorder, peer recovery services, telemedicine access to Medication-Assisted Treatment, and contingency management, officials noted.
To this end, the Project’s solution selection methodology enables health systems to tailor decisions to their individual organizations’ needs, accelerate decision-making, and ultimately drive long-lasting results for their patients in a financially self-sustaining manner, according to officials.
It’s also noteworthy that payers are seeking to act as well, and this Action Forum marked the first time that they were invited to formally participate in the Project. An exclusive morning session for provider-sponsored plans and third-party payers explored alternative payment models and state procurement trends for SUD and concluded with several solution demos, MTP officials noted.
“Addiction isn’t about character – addiction is a chronic disease based on chemical reactions. For too long, we’ve stigmatized those suffering from addiction and, as a result, the healthcare industry has fallen short when it comes to providing effective, thorough, quality treatment,” said Slavitt. “The health systems in MTP are challenging the status quo. The time is now to not only change the dialogue, but to adopt innovative solutions and services to make real, lasting change when it comes to addiction treatment.”
