MeHAF Discretionary Grant (Nov 2017–Apr 2018)

Expanding Medication-Assisted Recovery Services & Building a Stronger Recovery‐Oriented System for Substance Use Disorder Treatment in Maine

Project Summary
CCSME conducted a planning process to identify strategies for expanding access to Medication-Assisted Recovery (MAR) to support a goal of creating a statewide, networked system of care in Maine for people with Substance Use Disorder (SUD) with a focus on improving care for uninsured and vulnerable populations. The project began with an assessment of current statewide and regional efforts to expand access to MAR services, aiming to identify key program elements that have contributed to the success of, and/or presented challenges to offering and expanding MAR services. It also included an assessment of policy opportunities for expanding access to MAR services, including payment, treatment, and legislative policies, and a review of pending relevant Maine legislation and successful policy initiatives in other states.

As part of this process, we convened key stakeholders to provide input on developing a plan for expanding access to MAR services and creating a statewide, networked system of care for SUD. The ultimate goal of the project was to produce an initial plan outlining potential options for expanding access to a consistent, statewide set of high-quality MAR services in Maine and identifying a range of potential funding sources to support the costs of implementing the proposed plan, as well as looking at opportunities to leverage existing funding sources.

Collaborators & Partners
This effort was led by Project Director, Lisa Letourneau MD, MPH, working in partnership with Catherine Chichester at CCSME. Project partners included Eric Haram (Haram Consulting), serving as consultant and content expert in addiction treatment. Key collaborators included Maine Quality Counts (QC) and the Maine Medical Association (MMA), both of which have been strong advocates for addressing the opioid epidemic and have links to medical providers and primary care practices statewide. We also engaged state partners, including leaders from Maine DHHS, MaineCare, Maine SAMHS, and Maine CDC, and partnered with health systems and practices that are building systems to provide MAT services to identify factors that support or detract from their ability to provide such care. Additionally, we partnered with the Maine Alliance for Addiction & Mental Health Services to link with Maine’s SUD treatment community, and the Maine Alliance for Addiction Recovery to link with the recovery community.

Project Report & Plan

Presentation: Maine’s Opioid Epidemic: Building a Stronger, Statewide, Recovery-Oriented System of Care