News

CMS awards Alabama Medicaid $5 million for planning grant

9/19/2019

The Alabama Medicaid Agency was awarded $5 million for a planning grant that will aid in the treatment of and recovery from substance use disorders (SUDs), including Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).  The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced that Alabama is one of 15 states to receive this grant with awards totaling $48.5 million.

The purpose of planning grant is to increase the capacity of Medicaid providers to deliver substance use disorder treatment or recovery services through:

• An ongoing assessment of the substance use disorder treatment needs of the state;

• Recruitment, training, and technical assistance for Medicaid providers that offer substance use disorder treatment or recovery services; and

• Improved reimbursement for and expansion of the number or treatment capacity of Medicaid providers.

The following State Medicaid Agencies were awarded 18-month planning grants in September 2019: Alabama, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Washington, Virginia, and West Virginia.

To view the announcement from CMS, select the following:

https://www.medicaid.gov/medicaid/benefits/bhs/support-act-provider-capacity-demos/index.html.

A video explaining the grant award and purpose is available at the following link:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wNyKinu9sTs&feature=youtu.be.