Groups Recover Together Contracts with AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire to Expand Access to Opioid Addiction Treatment Options for Health Plan Members
Agreement Combines Groups Recover Together’s Focus on Increasing Access to Treatment with AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire’s Commitment to Making Care Accessible to Those Most in Need
February 24, 2020 - Burlington, Mass. and Manchester, N.H.
Groups Recover Together has announced an executed agreement with AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire that will allow its members to receive care from any of Groups' eight locations throughout the state. AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire is a managed care organization (MCO) that began serving New Hampshire Medicaid enrollees in September 2019 and is part of the AmeriHealth Caritas Family of Companies.
Today's announcement further expands access to Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) sought by AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire members who are recovering from opioid addiction. Groups Recover Together now contracts with two of New Hampshire's three Medicaid MCOs.
AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire and Groups Recover Together's agreement, which makes addiction treatment accessible to AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire members, will help the Granite State tackle a key barrier to addressing the opioid crisis. Continuing to remove this barrier couldn't come at a more critical time for New Hampshire.
According to the National Institutes of Health, New Hampshire is among the top five states with the highest rate of opioid-related overdose deaths. In 2017, there were 424 drug overdose deaths involving opioids in New Hampshire—an age-adjusted rate of 34.0 deaths per 100,000 persons. This was more than twice the average national rate of 14.6 deaths per 100,000 persons.
"The opioid epidemic is a national crisis with heartbreaking local impact," said Dr. Jacob "Gus" Crothers, national medical director at Groups Recover Together. "It hurts our health, our neighborhoods, and our local economy. Treatment is available, but it needs to be affordable and accessible within the communities that are affected. That is what Groups Recover Together is doing so well. Our unique model is spreading care, saving lives, and driving industry-leading outcomes."
"Medicaid health plans are often on the front lines of substance use disorder treatment," said AmeriHealth Caritas New Hampshire Medical Director Dr. Donald McNally. "Working with our community partners to decrease barriers to treatment is paramount. We are proud to be working with Groups Recover Together to bring much needed substance use care to our members in New Hampshire."
1 CDC Data Brief 329. Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2017 (https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db329_tables-508.pdf)
2 Key Substance Use and Mental Health Indicators in the United States: Results from the 2016 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/NSDUH-FFR1-2016/NSDUH-FFR1-2016.htm#sud10)
3 NSDUH: Table 1.65A Misuse of Opioids in Past Year among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics: Numbers in Thousands, 2016 and 2017 (https://www.samhsa.gov/data/sites/default/files/cbhsq-reports/NSDUHDetailedTabs2017/NSDUHDetailedTabs2017.pdf)