Dive Brief:
- California is set to begin a five-year pilot program in which it will expand its substance abuse treatment options for Medicaid beneficiaries.
- The experiment is possible thanks to a federal drug waiver that will allow California more spending flexibility in its quest to improve outcomes long term and reduce the financial and social impacts of addiction.
- California will use the waiver to expand access to care, provide case management and recovery services, and additional medication.
Dive Insight:
Starting in 2016, drug treatment facilities will be able to seek reimbursement for providing a broader array of services to Medi-Cal enrollees, including up to two 90-day residential stays each year. However, reimbursement rates are still under negotiation, Kaiser Health News reports.
Clinics say that unless the state raises Medi-Cal reimbursement rates for treatment, it will be difficult for them to provide the extent of services that will be required, particularly due to the likely influx of patients who will be seeking help for the first time.
Another issue: there are no estimates for expenses under the plan, KHN notes. The hope is simply that better treatment will lower costs in the long run by ending the cycle of substance abusers' rotation through treatment centers, jails, and hospitals.