Giving Compass' Take:

• Lisa Clemans-Cope and Eva H. Allen present the case for the opioid-focused Medicaid health home program, which has proven a successful intervention, particularly in states that expanded Medicaid. 

• How can philanthropy support this program and others like it? What scale do programs like this one need to address the opioid crisis? 

• Find out how impact investors can help stop the opioid crisis. 

Evidence is mounting of the adverse social, health, and economic impacts of opioid use disorder for individuals, families, and communities. Accordingly, policymakers are seeking ways to promote evidence-based treatments for this national problem. Our new study draws attention to opioid-focused Medicaid health home programs, a promising Medicaid initiative that has been implemented in Maryland, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

Policymakers seeking to address the opioid crisis should consider the opioid-focused Medicaid health home program, which has strong potential to dramatically improve lives, particularly in states that expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.

These programs are based on the Medicaid Health Home State Plan Option authorized under the Affordable Care Act. This option provides states with eight quarters of 90 percent enhanced federal matching funds for services that both integrate primary and mental or behavioral health care and improve care coordination for patients with chronic conditions. Twenty-one states and the District of Columbia have implemented Medicaid health home programs for various patient groups.

Read the full article on Medicaid health home programs by Lisa Clemans-Cope and Eva H. Allen at Urban Institute.