Expanding Access to Effective Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Michigan
Overview
Contingency management is one of the few evidence-based treatments proven effective for stimulant use disorders. Michigan wanted to make it available statewide through its Medicaid providers; doing that meant finding a partner who could coordinate across organizations by providing training, technical assistance, and implementation support.
Challenge: Scaling an Evidence-Based Model
Making contingency management work statewide required significant operational change. Health plans and treatment providers needed to adopt new workflows, reporting processes, and implementation requirements while maintaining fidelity to the evidence-based model. The effort also required coordination across provider organizations, health plans, implementation partners, and supporting technology systems.
Solution: Training, Technical Assistance, and Evaluation
Altarum helped the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services launch the Recovery Incentives Pilot, building a customized contingency management curriculum and delivering statewide training to prepare providers for implementation. As participating organizations adopted new workflows and systems, our team provided ongoing technical assistance, implementation support, and evaluation services to help them deliver contingency management in alignment with the pilot model.
Outcome: More Access to Evidence-Based Care
The pilot helped providers across Michigan put contingency management into practice. Participating organizations adopted new workflows, trained staff, and incorporated the model into substance use disorder treatment programs. The lessons learned through the pilot gave state leaders a clearer picture of what it would take to expand contingency management services more broadly.