CMS leverages Medicaid Program to combat the Opioid crisis

Today, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released guidance to build on our commitment to partner with states to ensure they have the necessary regulatory tools and flexibility to combat the opioid crisis. This new guidance also describes the approaches states can use to address this crisis, ensures awareness of available resources and articulates promising practices for addressing the needs of beneficiaries facing opioid addiction.

CMS released an Informational Bulletin that provides states with information they can use when designing approaches to cover critical treatment services for Medicaid eligible infants with Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome (NAS). Also, CMS issued a letter to states on how they may best use federal funding to enhance Medicaid technology to combat drug addiction and the opioid crisis.

The informational bulletin and letter can be accessed on Medicaid.gov at https://www.medicaid.gov/Federal-Policy-Guidance/Federal-Policy-Guidance.html.