State expands opioid health home services to Monroe County

Dec. 3—The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) has expanded the Opioid Health Home (OHH) initiative to more Michigan counties, including Monroe County, to provide intensive care management and care coordination services for Medicaid beneficiaries with an opioid use disorder.

The U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently approved Michigan's State Plan Amendment to expand the initiative into Prepaid Inpatient Health Plan (PIHP) Regions 6, 7 and 10. The expanded plan will allow thousands of Medicaid beneficiaries meeting the eligibility criteria to receive OHH services.

A Health Home is a benefit awarded to Medicaid beneficiaries who have been diagnosed with an Opioid Use Disorder and reside within eligible regions or counties, including PIHP Region 6 (Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe and Washtenaw counties) and PIHP Region 7 (Wayne County.

Individuals who meet the criteria are able to work with a team of providers who will attend to a beneficiary's complete health and social needs. Participation is voluntary and enrolled beneficiaries may opt out at any time.

Vicky Loveland, coordinator for the Monroe County Substance Abuse Coalition, referred comment about the program's impact to Nicole Adelman, who is director of substance use services for the Community Mental Health Partnership of Southeast Michigan that serves Lenawee, Livingston, Monroe and Washtenaw counties. Adelman said the partnership recently started providing Opioid Health Homes in its region and "this funding does go through" the PIHP.

"We are very excited about the addition of Opioid Health Homes in our region," Adelman said in an email Wednesday. "We are starting with one Health Home Partner in Washtenaw County, which is Packard Health. OHH services are available to anyone in our region at that location. We recognize that is not an ideal location for people farther away and are starting to reach out to potential Health Home Partners in other counties in our region, including Monroe County."

She added the partnership is "hopeful we can add a Health Home Partner in Monroe County to provide these services to Monroe County residents more locally."

She wasn't sure how many people would benefit from the OHH.

The expansion of the Opioid Health Home program will "help address the complexity of physical and behavioral health conditions in Michigan and improve access to essential services," said Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director. "For enrolled beneficiaries, the Health Home will function as the central point of contact for directing patient-centered care across the broader health care system."

In Michigan, half of Medicaid beneficiaries have an untreated mental illness and more than two-thirds have an untreated substance use disorder. Health Homes are a proven model to increase access to coordinated and integrated care, which is especially important during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For more specific information about OHH, including eligibility and available resources, visit Michigan.gov/OHH.

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