Grant Award
Maine was awarded a $2.1 million grant from the federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) SUPPORT Act (Support for ME). The key goals of the grant are to enhance Maine's response to the opioid crisis through increased access to vital services for substance use disorder, and at the same time contribute to its comprehensive rural health transformation efforts. See the SUPPORT for ME Overview (PDF) for more detail about this initiative.
Areas of Focus
MaineCare will:
- Assess the number, capacity, and willingness of providers to expand substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery services.
- Develop short-term recommendations for improving access to appropriate levels of care, including assessing gaps in current SUD treatment and recovery service delivery system.
- Build the service delivery infrastructure to enable better response to SUD, including Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).
Improving Service Delivery
To improve service delivery in response to SUD, MaineCare will:
- Evaluate our SUD rates and rate setting system, comparing them to other rates and payment models.
- Evaluate rates for specific SUD services.
- Enhance telehealth capacity.
- Explore development of a treatment locator tool.
- Eliminate barriers to member access to treatment and recovery services through provision of technical assistance to current or potential SUD treatment providers .
Why is the SUPPORT for ME grant significant?
Maine is among the states hardest hit by a national trend of non-medical uses of opioid prescription drugs and increasing use of heroin, with subsequent increases in opioid-related morbidity and mortality. The award addresses a critical need to improve SUD treatment and delivery for Maine families.
Advisory Committee Meetings
July 12, 2021
May 10, 2021
March 8, 2021
- Maine Medical AssociationCenter for Quality Improvement Presentation (PDF)
- Advisory Meeting Minutes (PDF)
January 11, 2021
December 14, 2020
November 9, 2020
September 14, 2020
July 13, 2020
June 8, 2020
May 5, 2020
- Support for ME Introduction Presentation (PDF)
- Advisory Committee Presentation (PDF)
- Advisory Meeting Minute (PDF)
This webpage is supported by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award totaling $2,144,225 with 100 percent funded by CMS/HHS. The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by CMS/HHS, or the U.S. Government.