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Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services approves Michigan's demonstration waiver for substance use disorder treatment services Project will increase access to care and expand provider network

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 5, 2019

CONTACT: Lynn Sutfin, 517-241-2112 

LANSING, Mich. – The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services today announced that the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has approved Michigan’s application for a new Medicaid 1115 Demonstration Waiver for Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services. This project is expected to improve health outcomes for Medicaid beneficiaries by increasing access to high quality opioid use disorder/SUD care and expand the provider networks available to serve Michigan residents. 

This demonstration will allow Michigan to broaden residential substance use disorder services in the state’s existing network of SUD providers. Additionally, the demonstration provides the state the ability to use Medicaid funding to pay for services in residential and withdrawal management treatment facilities that would otherwise be excluded from federal reimbursement.  

“The opioid crisis has affected nearly all Michiganders in some way, and I am pleased that Michigan is going to be able to expand services for individuals seeking help with substance use disorders,” said Robert Gordon, MDHHS director. “Demonstration projects like this help develop new best practices that can be scaled here and across the country as we all work to address this critical public health emergency.”

The state and CMS expect that offering a full continuum of SUD treatment and recovery supports based on American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) and SUD-specific program standards will result in improved health outcomes and sustained recovery.

This demonstration seeks to accomplish these efforts by:

  • Establishing an integrated behavioral health delivery system that includes a flexible and comprehensive SUD benefit and the Michigan continuum of care.

  • Enhancing provider competency related to the use of ASAM criteria or other nationally recognized SUD-specific program standards for patient assessment and treatment.

  • Expanding the treatment continuum of residential care including medically necessary use of qualified residential treatment facilities regardless of the size of the facility, withdrawal management programming and medication assisted treatment and recovery.

  • Expanding the use of recovery coach delivered support services.

  • Establishing coordination of care models between SUD providers, primary care and other behavioral health providers.

Michigan will begin to provide SUD services through this demonstration starting Oct. 1, 2019.

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