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Trump administration announces policy to combat opioid crisis

States now have freedom to create demonstration projects that increase access to treatment for opioid use and other substance use disorders, according to a new policy recently announced by CMS.

The policy will allow states to pay for a “fuller continuum of care” for patients with these conditions, including treatment in residential treatment facilities where Medicaid is unable to pay for without a waiver, according to a press release.

CMS said the new policy allows states “greater treatment options while improving their continuum of care over time.”

“Previous policies ignored the growing urgency of the national opioid epidemic and instead put onerous requirements on states that ultimately prevented individuals from accessing these needed services," Seema Verma, MPH, CMS administrator, said in the release. “This new demonstration policy comes as a direct result of the President’s commitment to address the opioid crisis.”

The policy also “dramatically enhances” CMS’s ability to evaluate these programs’ effectiveness and determine which treatment delivery methods are most effective, according to the release.

CMS said two demonstration projects have already been approved, in Utah and New Jersey.

Utah’s project targets individuals within the justice system, patients with substance use disorder, and those who are chronically homeless, as well as provides substance use disorder treatment at more facilities than previously allowed.

New Jersey’s project provides a coordinated and comprehensive substance use disorder benefit to children and adults while allowing for the continuum of these services provided to Medicaid beneficiaries who reside in residential treatment facilities.

Disclosure: Verma is CMS administrator.