Treatment FAQ

what can state medicaid programs do about sud prevention and treatment

by Parker Senger Published 3 years ago Updated 2 years ago

Currently, more state Medicaid programs cover buprenorphine and naltrexone than methadone. Both buprenorphine and methadone are safe and effective treatments for OUD during pregnancy. The SUPPORT Act also provides states with different opportunities to increase access to services for pregnant women with SUD.

State SUD treatment grants funded by general revenue can help fill gaps in treatment and recovery services that Medicaid does not cover. In addition to demonstration waivers, under the SUPPORT Act states can cover up to 30 days of residential and inpatient care annually through a state plan amendment.Mar 18, 2021

Full Answer

How much does Medicaid spend on Suds?

Of the $24 billion, Medicaid accounted for 21 percent of the spending. The evidence is strong that treatment in managing SUDs provides substantial cost savings. For instance:

What is included in SUD treatment services?

SUD treatment services include having an outpatient visit, intensive outpatient encounter or partial hospitalization, telehealth encounter, or filling a prescription or being administered or dispensed a medication for SUD. (After an inpatient discharge only, residential treatment also counts as continuity of care.)

Does Medicaid cover substance use disorders?

Substance Use Disorders (SUD) impact the lives of millions of Americans in the general population, including individuals that are enrolled in the Medicaid program. Nearly 12 percent of Medicaid beneficiaries over 18 have a SUD, and CMCS is committed to helping States effectively serve individuals with SUDs.

Is treatment for SUDS worth the cost?

The evidence is strong that treatment in managing SUDs provides substantial cost savings. For instance:

What is the most effective treatment for SUD?

Psychotherapy, or talk therapy, is helpful for those living with SUD. It can reinforce motivation to remain sober and target any underlying mental health issues, including anxiety and depression. You also learn stress-coping skills and how to work through relationship problems.

What are some strategies that successful treatment programs have used to help with addiction?

Successful treatment has several steps: detoxification. behavioral counseling. medication (for opioid, tobacco, or alcohol addiction)...Behavioral therapies help patients:modify their attitudes and behaviors related to drug use.increase healthy life skills.persist with other forms of treatment, such as medication.

What is case management for substance use disorder?

Case management is a set of social service functions that helps clients access the resources they need to recover from a substance abuse problem.

What is the most effective treatment for substance use disorders?

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT): CBT is a one-on-one therapy during which you meet privately with a therapist over a period of time. It's often considered the most effective therapy for drug and alcohol use disorders.

How do you develop a treatment plan for substance abuse?

Treatment plans should consider how substance abuse impacts all aspects of your life, including your mental, physical, social, and financial health....Here are the main elements of a treatment plan.Diagnostic Summary. ... Problem List. ... Goals. ... Objectives. ... Interventions. ... Tracking and Evaluating Progress. ... Planning Long-Term Care.

How can we prevent drug abuse?

Here are the top five ways to prevent substance abuse:Understand how substance abuse develops. ... Avoid Temptation and Peer Pressure. ... Seek help for mental illness. ... Examine the risk factors. ... Keep a well-balanced life.More items...•

What are the five major functions of case management?

The case management process consists of five parts: assessment, treatment planning, linking, advocacy, and monitoring.

What is the role of the case manager in substance abuse treatment?

Case managers are the conduit and navigator into a complex system of treatment and can open doors when the average patient may end up on a waiting list. They can help develop a treatment plan that could include a variety of approaches: Detox, including medically-assisted programs.

What are the 4 models of case management?

There are four basic levels involved with case management – intake, needs assessment, service planning, and monitoring and evaluating – which will be analyzed here. It is important to note that while these levels are numbered one through four for the purposes of this discussion, they are not necessarily linear.

What are the three elements of a substance abuse program?

Goals and Effectiveness of TreatmentReducing substance abuse or achieving a substance-free life.Maximizing multiple aspects of life functioning.Preventing or reducing the frequency and severity of relapse.

What rehab has the highest success rate?

Roughly 80 percent of patients report benefiting from improved quality of life and health after completing drug and alcohol rehab. Florida has the highest success rates of drug rehab compared to all other states.

What is the first step in treating a drug abuse problem?

Detoxification is normally the first step in treatment. This involves clearing a substance from the body and limiting withdrawal reactions. In 80 percent of cases, a treatment clinic will use medications to reduce withdrawal symptoms, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).

What is SUD treatment?

SUD treatment services include having an outpatient visit, intensive outpatient encounter or partial hospitalization, telehealth encounter, or filling a prescription or being administered or dispensed a medication for SUD. (After an inpatient discharge only, residential treatment also counts as continuity of care.)

What is the IAP for Medicaid?

The goal of the Medicaid Innovation Accelerator Program’s (IAP) the Reducing Substance Use Disorders (SUD) area is to support states to introduce policy, program, and payment reforms to better identify individuals with SUD, expand coverage for effective treatment, enhance care and practices delivered to beneficiaries, and develop payment mechanisms for SUD services that will provide better outcomes.

What is a Medicaid planning grant?

The purpose of planning grants is to increase the capacity of Medicaid providers to deliver substance use disorder treatment or recovery services through: An ongoing assessment of the substance use disorder treatment needs of the state; Recruitment, training, and technical assistance for Medicaid providers ...

What is behavioral health treatment?

Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator: The Behavioral Health Treatment Services Locator is a confidential and anonymous source of information for persons seeking treatment facilities in the United States or U.S. Territories for substance use/addiction and/or mental health problems.

What is the support act?

On October 24, 2018, the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act became law. Under section 1003 of the SUPPORT Act, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), ...

What is residential treatment?

This gradation of residential treatment is specifically designed for specific population of adult patients with significant cognitive impairments resulting from substance use or other co-occurring disorders. This level of care is appropriate when an individual’s temporary or permanent cognitive limitations make it unlikely for them to benefit from other residential levels of care that offer group therapy and other cognitive-based relapse prevention strategies. These cognitive impairments may be seen in individuals who suffer from an organic brain syndrome as a result of substance use, who suffer from chronic brain syndrome, who have experienced a traumatic brain injury, who have developmental disabilities, or are older adults with age and substance-related cognitive limitations. Individuals with temporary limitations receive slower paced, repetitive treatment until the impairment subsides and s/he is able to progress onto another level of care appropriate for her/his SUD treatment needs.

What is the staffing requirement for social residential withdrawal management?

For example, readily available physicians and nurses are required for outpatient withdrawal management, whereas social residential withdrawal management requires only that such personnel be available for consultation if protocols are in place and the care setting is staffed by appropriately credentialed and trained counselors.8

What is level 3.7 in addiction treatment?

These services are differentiated from Level 4.0 in that the population served does not have conditions severe enough to warrant medically managed inpatient services or acute care in a general hospital where daily treatment decisions are managed by a physician. Level 3.7 is appropriate for adolescents with co-occurring psychiatric disorders or symptoms that hinder their ability to successfully engage in SUD treatment in other settings. Services in this program are meant to orient or re-orient patients to daily life structures outside of substance use.

What is intensive outpatient care?

Setting: Intensive outpatient programs are primarily delivered by substance use disorder outpatient specialty providers, but may be delivered in any appropriate setting that meets state licensure or certification requirements. These programs have direct affiliation with programs offering more and less intensive levels of care as well as supportive housing services.

What is SBIRT level 0.5?

These early intervention services—including individual or group counseling, motivational interventions, and Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment (SBIRT)—seek to identify substance-related risk factors to help individuals recognize the potentially harmful consequences of high-risk behaviors. These services may be coverable under Medicaid as stand-alone direct services or may also be coverable as component services of a program such as driving under the influence or driving while intoxicated programs and Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs). Length of service may vary from 15 to 60 minutes of SBIRT, provided once or over five brief motivational sessions, to several weeks of services provided in programs. Medicaid coverage of services and component services, whether provided directly or through programs, must comport with all applicable rules, such as state plan benefit requirements.

Can a physician prescribe buprenorphine?

However, waivered physicians are not permitted to prescribe in inpatient settings. Physicians must complete an eight-hour training approved by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment and must submit their training credits to the Drug Enforcement Agency to achieve waiver status that allows them to prescribe buprenorphine. Overall, federal regulation applies to the prescribing physician rather than the facility where s/he is practicing.9

Why do states use Medicaid waivers?

States use Medicaid waivers to promote innovation, including expanding coverage and access to SUD treatment. Within federal Medicaid waiver guidance, states can specifically focus on care for pregnant women with SUD. Vermont’s 1115 waiver facilitates a multi-faceted approach to addressing the opioid epidemic that includes:

What is a substance use disorder?

Substance use disorder ( SUD) occurs when the recurrent use of alcohol and/or drugs causes clinically significant impairment, including health problems, disability, and failure to meet major responsibilities at work, school, or home.

What are the effects of SUD on pregnant women?

States face rapidly rising rates of substance use disorder (SUD) and overdoses among pregnant women and increases in maternal deaths and poor birth outcomes , such as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS) and neonatal opioid withdrawal syndrome (NOWS). [1] To understand how states promote early identification of SUD and treatment access for pregnant women, the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) researched Medicaid quality measures and targeted initiatives for pregnant women with or at risk of SUD in every state and Washington, DC. This issue brief highlights state strategies, such as developing a state Medicaid Opioid Strategy with a focus on pregnant and parenting women, and leveraging financial incentives, quality measures, waivers, and public-private partnership to improve maternal and birth outcomes and curb state costs associated with SUD.

How many people on medicaid have substance use disorder?

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) estimates that roughly 12% of adult Medicaid beneficiaries experience a substance use disorder (SUD). SUDs reduce workforce productivity, diminish quality of life, and increase violence and suicide, taking a toll on individuals, families, and communities.

What is MAT treatment?

Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT), the use of medications in combination with behavioral health counseling to provide a holistic approach to SUD treatment, has gained increasing recognition within the SUD space. MAT has demonstrated clinical efficacy in treating opioid use disorder (OUD) and other SUDs, as its adherence improves patient survival rates, increases probability that a patient will remain in treatment, and lowers individual risk of relapse. Additionally, while utilization of MAT drugs has increased since 2013, only 44% of Medicaid beneficiaries under 65 diagnosed with an OUD have received any SUD treatment (inclusive of MAT), indicating a need for increased access and uptake.

Does Section 1115 waiver work for SUD?

Through Section 1115 waivers, states have begun and will continue to bolster their ability to provide comprehensive services for Medicaid beneficiaries with SUD and SMI. Stakeholders will want to pay close attention to the implementation, successes, and failures of these demonstrations, given their novel nature and potential long-term implications on state behavioral health offerings. Improving local SUD prevention and treatment capabilities may lead to reductions in SUD- and SMI-related emergency room admissions, potentially mitigating state Medicaid expenditures.

SUPPORT Act: Section 1017

Section 1017 (a) of the SUPPORT Act required the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to issue a Report to Congress (PDF, 1.38 MB) describing innovative state initiatives and strategies for providing housing-related services and supports under a state Medicaid program to individuals with SUD who are experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness.

SUPPORT Act: Section 1018

Section 1018 (a) of the SUPPORT Act requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS) to provide technical assistance and support to states related to the development and expansion of innovative state strategies to provide housing-related supports and services and care coordination services under Medicaid to individuals with SUD.

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