The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services has announced changes created to improve access to substance use disorder treatment.
Mapping tool
A new mapping tool was created to help residents find treatment and recovery providers.
The tool identifies licensed substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery locations by zip code, county, or city.
The map also lets people search by type of services needed, including inpatient, outpatient, and medication-assisted treatment, an if the provider accepts Medicaid.
The map is available on the MDHHS website.
Health Home services expanded
Substance Use Disorder Health Homes increase access to coordinated and integrated care, according to the MDHHS. The homes focus on whole-person, team-based care, with peer recovery coaches at the center.
MDHHS has transitioned Opioid Health Homes to SUD Health Homes and added the diagnoses of Alcohol Use Disorder and Stimulant Use Disorder to expand eligibility for services.
“The expansion of the Substance Use Disorder Health Home has allowed us to increase our enrollment and provide much-needed care coordination services while improving our beneficiaries’ social determinants of health, said Branislava Arsenov, chief clinical officer of Northern Michigan Regional Entity. “These early enrollment trends speak to the need to grow this benefit in Northern Michigan to improve recovery outcomes and increase opportunities for beneficiaries and communities.”
SUD Health Homes are now statewide after expanding to Allegan, Kent, Lake, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana and Ottawa counties. Officials said the expansion should make services available for up to an additional 3,000 people.
Improving access
The MDHHS said the following actions have been taken to improve access to SUD treatment in Michigan:
- Expanded the number of Medicaid SUD providers by removing barriers for providers and offering incentives such as loan repayment to launch or expand services.
- Worked with physicians to increase the number of buprenorphine prescribers in the state.
- Launched early intervention treatment and referrals in select Federally Qualified Health Centers, Rural Health Clinics and Child and Adolescent Health Centers.
- Improved the system of care for pregnant individuals in northern Michigan by providing support and education for physicians in the Opioid Home Health network.
- Supported substance-exposed babies and their families by expanding supports through rooming-in, which allows birthing individuals, caregivers and babies with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome to stay together during treatment.
- Collaborated with Michigan Department of Corrections to support peers in parole/probation offices to assist individuals returning from incarceration.
- Provided more than 20,000 rides for SUD-related services. Transportation has been identified as a barrier in almost every community engagement related to SUD.
- Partnered with Michigan State Housing Development Authority to expand recovery housing to help meet the statewide demand. This resulted in an additional 27 recovery homes with 79 additional recovery beds, prioritizing counties and populations with the highest need.
- Expanded opioid treatment capacity at 10 Michigan Department of Corrections prisons which provide medications for opioid use disorder to 884 incarcerated individuals.
More information on programming and resources can be found on the state’s SUD Resources website.