This report shows how much progress has been made to improve behavioral health since Montana implemented Medicaid expansion in 2016. With Medicaid expansion now providing a payment source for behavioral health services, Montana’s system is in the process of a deeply needed transformation. Between 2016 and 2020, Montana’s budget for prevention doubled, and 59% of … Continued
The Montana Healthcare Foundation’s Integrated Behavioral Health Initiative is transforming the standard of care for primary care providers and patients in Montana. To ensure the ongoing sustainability and expansion of the integrated care model, we commissioned the National Council for Behavioral Health to recommend options the State of Montana could explore. This report, “Sustaining and … Continued
This study was completed by NPC Research, an independent, nationally recognized research firm headquartered in Portland, Oregon, at the request of the Montana Supreme Court and the Montana Healthcare Foundation (who funded the report). The purpose of this study was to respond to current attention on substance use disorders as a key health challenge in Montana, and the … Continued
The opioid epidemic in the United States contributes to a growing need to address substance use disorders (SUDs) in the perinatal period. Women with SUD are at risk for poor pregnancy-related outcomes, and their newborns can suffer withdrawal symptoms known as neonatal abstinence syndrome (NAS), which can lead to the infant’s removal from their family … Continued
Substance abuse and addiction—more formally known as “substance use disorders” (SUDs)—are among Montana’s most serious and challenging health problems. Screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) is a practical tool that can be implemented in primary care offices, emergency departments, and other clinical settings. SBIRT-A is a set of adaptations to SBIRT developed to … Continued
This report provides a landscape scan and recommendations to increase the use of SBIRT in Montana. The report was commissioned by the Montana Healthcare Foundation and written by the National Council for Behavioral Health. You can read an executive summary of this report here.
Drug use in pregnancy is a serious public health problem in Montana. Despite evidence that the problem is on the rise, Montana has a severe shortage of treatment for pregnant women with substance use disorders. The number of Montana children in foster care more than doubled since 2011: out of more than 3,200 children in … Continued
This report explores Medicaid’s new role as the primary payer for substance use disorder services in Montana. This new role is a direct result of Montana’s 2016 Medicaid expansion to cover most low-income adults in the State. The report offers strategies that the Medicaid program may pursue in this new role to improve substance use … Continued
Alternative education programs in Montana are defined as “A ‘restructured’ academic program to serve at-risk students and operated within an accredited public school.” Twenty-eight alternative education programs that fit this definition currently exist in Montana, though there is no official tracking system for these programs, and local schools districts have full discretion over how these … Continued
Substance use disorders and mental illness are among the most serious and challenging health problems in Montana. This report presents the results of a baseline assessment of Montana’s current system of care for people with mental illness and substance use disorders (collectively termed “behavioral health disorders”), and evaluates the potential for implementing “integrated behavioral health” (IBH) … Continued