Hospital and Physician Update

March – April 2020

A message from Steve Carrier, senior vice president, Network Management and Provider Partnership Innovation
Blue Distinction Specialty Care takes aim at treating members with opioid use disorders

• About 130 Americans die every day from an opioid overdose, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• In 2018, there were 2,599 overdose deaths in Michigan, according to the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.

With alarming statistics like these, it’s encouraging to learn we have a new weapon in our battle against opioid use disorders — a Blue Distinction^® Center designation for Substance Use Treatment and Recovery.

The new designation program focuses on the treatment of substance use disorders, including opioid use disorders, across the spectrum of care delivery. Facilities with residential, inpatient, intensive outpatient or partial hospitalization services will be considered for designation.

Since opioid use disorder and other forms of substance use are so prevalent, it makes sense to help our customers find the best programs for treatment. We’re working closely with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association to develop criteria for substance use treatment and recovery facilities in the state that may qualify for the designation.

We’ll assess each applicant’s evidence-based treatments, patient outcomes and use of medically assisted interventions for initial and ongoing treatment. Designated facilities must also offer medication-assisted treatment — a method of treating opioid addiction that includes a medication component as well as behavioral therapy.

Other important factors include family involvement and social support, long-term outpatient services and professional or community resources, such as 12-step programs and faith-based recovery networks.

Facilities that take a holistic, comprehensive intervention approach to treating substance use are the most likely to qualify for the designation program. Applications from such facilities will be forwarded to the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association for review, and will also be assessed to ensure compliance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan criteria.

About Blue Distinction Centers

The Substance Use Treatment and Recovery Blue Distinction program is 1 of 11 nationally designated programs that reward a commitment to delivering improved patient safety and better health outcomes. The Blue Distinction Specialty Care program also helps people find quality specialty care in the following areas:

For more information, visit bcbsm.com/bluedistinction.

This program is one of many efforts that Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan has implemented over the past few years to address the opioid epidemic. To learn more about our efforts in the areas of prevention, fraud and abuse, advocacy and awareness, and treatment, go to mibluesperspectives.com/opioids101.

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Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan and Blue Care Network are nonprofit corporations and independent licensees of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.