Grants Will Allow Medicaid Members With Opioid Use Disorder to Have Access to Residential Treatment

Friday, April 22nd, 2022 -- 12:01 PM

An estimated 1,100 Wisconsin Medicaid members with an opioid use disorder will have access to residential treatment this year, thanks to $2.5 million in grants from the Department of Health Services awarded to agencies serving 54 counties and four tribes.

The funding from opioid settlement dollars will be used to cover room and board costs for this benefit. Federal law prohibits Medicaid from reimbursing residential substance use disorder treatment providers for a client’s room and board expenses.

Lack of funds to cover room and board costs is the primary reason Medicaid members do not enroll in this level of treatment. Funding for room and board expenses was included in Governor Evers’ 2021-23 biennial budget but was not approved by the legislature.

These grants are funded by Wisconsin’s share of a multistate settlement with McKinsey & Company, a global consulting firm that for years fueled the opioid epidemic nationwide through its work with the manufacturers of opioid drugs.

DHS is receiving $10.4 million over five years from this settlement. The funds must be invested in strategies to address Wisconsin’s opioid epidemic.

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