CMS NEWS
For
Immediate Release
June 28, 2019
Contact:
CMS Media Relations
(202) 690-6145 | CMS Media Inquiries
Trump Administration Approves Two New
State Medicaid Demonstrations to Treat Substance Use Disorders and Combat
National Opioid Epidemic
The
Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced today that
Minnesota and Nebraska have become the 23rd and 24th states who have
received approval under the Trump Administration for innovative
demonstration projects that increase access to treatment for opioid use
disorder (OUD) and other substance use disorders (SUD).
Under
the section 1115 demonstrations, Minnesota and Nebraska are approved to
receive Medicaid matching funds for treatment in facilities that meet the
definition of an institution for mental diseases (IMD). Since announcing
a more flexible approach to these demonstrations through a November 2017 Medicaid policy
announcement, the Trump Administration has accelerated efforts to help
states combat the national opioid epidemic, decreasing overuse and saving
lives.
“The
Trump administration is committed to offering a more flexible,
streamlined approach to accelerate states’ ability to expand addiction
treatment services during this national crisis,” said CMS Administrator
Seema Verma, “Whereas only a handful of states were approved for these
demonstrations before 2017, our approach has allowed us to approve nearly
20 more demonstrations in just 18 months.” Under the Minnesota demonstration,
Medicaid eligible individuals will receive enhanced mental health
services through Minnesota’s Certified Community Behavioral Health
Clinics (CCBHCs). Temporary expenditure authority will allow CCBHCs to
integrate community health care providers to increase rates of
identification, initiation, and engagement in treatment for
SUD.
CMS
expects the Nebraska demonstration will enhance existing substance abuse
related services and offer those services to beneficiaries in more
appropriate treatment locations, including residential facilities.
As a result the anticipated outcome is that more patients will receive a
more complete array of required treatments than before the demonstration.
States
will monitor and report the impact of changes to address SUD and OUD over
the course of the demonstrations. States who have already implemented
their programs are beginning to report positive results. For example,
Virginia experienced a 4 percent decrease in acute inpatient SUD
admissions during the first 10 months of implementation, along with a 6
percent decrease in opioid use disorder inpatient admissions. During the
first year, the total number of prescriptions for opioid pain medications
among Medicaid beneficiaries decreased by 27 percent while the number of
prescriptions for non-opioid pain relievers remained unchanged. In one
year of early implementation of the Maryland demonstration, over 8,000
Medicaid beneficiaries received residential treatment services.
Expanding
access to treatment for people with opioid use disorder (OUD) is one key
strategy identified in CMS’s Roadmap to Address the Opioid Epidemic,
which details agency efforts in combatting the opioid crisis. More than
two million people suffer from OUD, yet only 20 percent of people with
OUD receive treatment. These demonstrations will allow Minnesota and
Nebraska to improve access to high quality, clinically appropriate
treatment for OUD and other SUDs, in ways that take into account the
particular challenges the opioid epidemic has caused in their respective
states. Both demonstrations are approved for a five year period beginning
on July 1, 2019, and ending on June 30, 2024.
For
More information regarding the Minnesota and Nebraska, demonstrations
please visit:
Minnesota:
https://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Waivers/1115/downloads/mn/mn-sud-reform-ca.pdf
Nebraska:
https://www.medicaid.gov/Medicaid-CHIP-Program-Information/By-Topics/Waivers/1115/downloads/ne/ne-sud-demo-ca.pdf
States
with previously approved demonstration approvals include Illinois, New
Jersey, Louisiana, Indiana, Kentucky, Utah, Vermont, Pennsylvania, New
Hampshire, Washington, North Carolina, Wisconsin, Alaska, New Mexico,
Kansas, Rhode Island, Michigan, Massachusetts, Maryland, Virginia,
California and West Virginia.
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