What can be done to improve public health and the quality of health care in a poor rural state plagued by the worst epidemic of opioid use disorder in the Nation?

The 状态 of West Virginia received a Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) grant to develop a plan, the 状态 Innovation Model (SIM) Plan, for restructuring the state’s health care delivery and payment system.  The goal of the plan was to better achieve the “triple aim”: improve population health and the care experience while controlling costs.

West Virginia tapped 趣赢平台 to work with community members, health and behavioral health providers, and man年龄d care organizations to develop strategies to integrate behavioral health and primary care that can succeed in poorly resourced rural settings, including innovative, state-of-the-art approaches to telehealth and expanded use of medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders.

• 趣赢平台 consulted with the planning team and with health and behavioral health providers throughout the state on the role of behavioral health integration in achieving plan goals.
• To develop an understanding of the opportunities to integrate care, 趣赢平台 interviewed leaders of many of the largest provider organizations and all of the Medicaid man年龄d care organizations working in the state. A particular focus was on means to improve access for medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders in a state with extremely high rates of opioid overdose and death.
• We developed a key segment of the plan that outlined strategies for increasing behavioral health and primary care integration, emphasizing three means of deploying telehealth to address health care access and workforce issues in this very rural state.
• 趣赢平台 edited the full plan and expanded sections on public health, clarifying the link年龄s between behavioral and public health.

• West Virginia’s SIM plan received high marks from CMS.
• Efforts are underway to implement key components of the plan, including some of those recommended by 趣赢平台, around the state.