A large behavioral healthcare nonprofit in Delaware is getting federal support to help people struggling with addiction.
Connections CSP is one of 61 participants across the country receiving funding from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services as part of a new initiative called Value in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment.
The program supports patients in active recovery from opioid addiction.
“It provides $125 per month per recipient who is enrolled in the program to allow us to do whatever we think is necessary to assist in someone’s recovery from an opioid use disorder,” said Connections’ CEO Dr. Bill Northey.
Northey says this will provide additional resources for people with opioid use disorder who don’t often qualify for the same supports as people with other mental health disorders.
“Whether it’s connecting them to housing, connecting them to state services, entitlements, social security, any of those types of things,” he said.
The four-year contract could pay out as much as $3.75 million.
To qualify for the program, individuals must be eligible for benefits under Medicare Part A and enrolled for benefits under Medicare Part B, but not enrolled in a Medicare Advantage Plan. They must already have a diagnosis for an opioid use disorder.