Michigan DHHS Recommends CHESS Health’s Contingency Management Platform for State’s Recovery Incentives Program
East Rochester, NY August 1, 2024 — The Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) today announced the intent to partner with CHESS Health to deploy the eRecovery Rewards Module, which is a customizable rewards engine for the automated delivery of contingency management to support the state’s Recovery Incentives Pilot. The pilot, supported by federal funds and $6 million in opioid settlement funds and approved through a Medicaid Section 1115 Waiver, aims to address substance use disorder (SUD) by expanding access to treatment for Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan (HMP) enrollees with SUD.
Contingency Management (CM) is an evidence-based digital behavioral intervention that positively impacts substance use disorder (SUD) treatment outcomes by providing reinforcements and rewards to individuals for meeting treatment goals. More than three decades of research show that CM improves medication adherence and treatment retention through reinforcement and incentivizing positive behaviors for individuals with SUD. It can be used as a standalone intervention or in combination with other treatment options.
CHESS Health’s Rewards Module was recommended after a competitive selection process based on several factors including the platform’s technical capabilities, configurability, adherence to the State’s timeline and terms, experience with statewide implementations, and the ability to integrate with the State’s user authentication infrastructure seamlessly.
“We are honored to have been selected and have the opportunity to partner with the state of Michigan on this initiative aimed at improving the lives of individuals struggling with substance use disorder,” said Hans Morefield, CEO of CHESS Health. “Our focus with the Rewards functionality has been to make contingency management easy for providers and states, which is critical to the success of these important initiatives.”
The recommendation by MDHHS is currently under review and undergoing the necessary approval process, with the intent for the project to go live in the fall.
About Michigan’s Recovery Incentives Pilot
The Recovery Incentives Pilot is designed to address the SUD crisis in Michigan by implementing effective, evidence- and community-based SUD treatment and recovery services. By establishing contingency management as a covered benefit on a pilot basis for Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan enrollees, the state believes it can improve outcomes by supporting individuals in making the behavior changes that drive recovery. Click to learn more about the Recovery Incentives Pilot.
