30 Health Systems, National Leaders Collaborate on Addressing Substance Use Disorder, Addiction

In response to the national opioid epidemic, 30 U.S health systems have decided to partner on a multi-faceted initiative aiming to expand access to treatment, confront the cultural stigma of addiction, and provide new solutions for their communities.

Across the U.S., 23.4 million Americans are suffering from drug use disorder and substance use disorder. As such, notable national figures such as John Kasich, former Ohio governor, and former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy, founder of The Kennedy Forum and former member of the President’s Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis, joined the health systems and a select group of payers to kick off this work, which marks the fourth area of focus for the Medicaid Transformation Project (MTP), a collaborative effort to transform healthcare and the related social needs for the nearly 75 million Americans who rely on Medicaid, and other vulnerable populations.