LANSING, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Addicts in Michigan will receive gift cards in Michigan under a new pilot program. In a press release from the Michigan Dept. of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) on Tuesday, they are seeking bids for a pilot program to provide “incentives to Medicaid enrollees who meet substance use disorder recovery goals.”
How does the program work?
The state is seeking vendors who will bid to provide an incentive manager platform to support a Recovery Incentives Pilot project for Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan enrollees who are living with substance use disorders.
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The Recovery Incentives Pilot will use contingency management, a type of cognitive behavioral therapy that provides motivational incentives to people living with a substance use disorder who achieve their treatment goals.
Incentives will be in the form of retail gift cards.
The amount of the incentive earned increases each week that the participant abstains from a narrow set of specified substances, as evidenced by negative drug tests. The contingency management program will concentrate on stimulant use disorder and opioid use disorder according to documentation on the state’s website. According to the U.S. Dept. of Veterans Affairs, stimulant use disorder includes the stimulants of cocaine, amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA (also known as ecstasy or molly), and prescription drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin.
Participating providers who partner with the state will use the platform to track and distribute motivational incentives to qualifying beneficiaries.
“The Recovery Incentives Pilot is another example of Michigan being a leader in tackling the opioid epidemic by offering providers and beneficiaries with the latest evidence-based tools in prevention, treatment and recovery,” said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director.
When will the program launch?
The department anticipates launching the Recovery Incentives Pilot in October 2024. The pilot is one of several projects to expand access to substance use disorder treatment being funded through Michigan’s opioid settlement funding.
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In addition to providing an incentive manager platform, the selected contractor will develop training materials on use of the platform and deliver trainings and technical assistance to end-users leading up to and throughout the Recovery Incentives Pilot. The contract period is expected to be from May 1, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2026.
What are the steps of the program?
An overview of the program on the website states eligible Medicaid beneficiaries will participate in a structured 24-week outpatient Recovery Incentives (RI) Pilot, followed by 6+ months of additional recovery support. Beneficiaries diagnosed with stimulant use disorder (StimUD) or opioid use disorder (OUD) will be eligible to participate in the pilot.
Beneficiaries will receive incentives for completed urine drug tests (UDTs), with larger rewards for negative test results. The larger incentives will be earned by testing negative for a narrow set of specified substances even if the test returns positive for other illicit drugs.
Incentives earned over the treatment period will be in the form of low-denomination gift cards. Individuals will be eligible to receive a maximum of $599 in incentives over a 12-month period.
Michigan News Source reached out to MDHHS to inquire about the type of gift cards that will be handed out for the program and they said “the gift cards should be to local and national businesses that operate in Michigan.”
