Toolkit identifies implementation strategies, action steps and provides examples of tools deployed by state Medicaid programs to address the substance use disorder crisis

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, LLP, a multidisciplinary, integrated professional services firm, in conjunction with Arnold Ventures, announced today the release of Using Medicaid to Advance Evidence-Based Treatment of Substance Use Disorders: A Toolkit for State Medicaid Leaders. Manatt Health, the firm’s healthcare legal and consulting group, developed the Toolkit with the support of Arnold Ventures to review promising strategies that state Medicaid programs have adopted to address the substance use disorder (SUD) crisis, and specifically the opioid epidemic.

“Medicaid is the bedrock of states’ efforts to combat the opioid epidemic sweeping across America,” said Patricia Boozang, senior managing director with Manatt Health and the Toolkit’s lead author. “The Toolkit is designed to help state leaders identify Medicaid strategies from around the nation to expand treatment and recovery supports to those with opioid use disorder (OUD), implement in their respective states and then evaluate and expand what works in order to help bring an end to this epidemic.”

The Toolkit uses an evidence-based approach to highlight the most effective strategies currently being leveraged to address the SUD and opioid epidemics at the state level. Given the fast-moving nature of these national epidemics, as well as the evolving response of state and local governments, the Toolkit also provides methods for monitoring and evaluating the efficacy of a chosen strategy in order to allow for timely adjustments to states’ approaches and amplify the body of evidence-based research.

The strategies addressed in the Toolkit are organized into three main focus areas:

• Strategies to Increase Access to Medication-Assisted Treatment;
• Strategies to Promote Coordinated Team-Based Care for OUD; and
• Strategies to Monitor and Evaluate OUD Interventions on an Ongoing Basis.

“The development of this Toolkit for state Medicaid directors was a critically important project for us,” said Sarah Twardock, public health manager with Arnold Ventures. “We hope that our work will help state and local governments identify and embrace Medicaid best practices for combating the opioid epidemic, which still causes more than 70,000 deaths across America each year.”

The case studies featured in the Toolkit highlight innovative approaches by various states, including California, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio, Virginia and Washington State, among others.

To access the full Toolkit, please click here.