A team from UMass Medical School’s Center for Health Law and Economics was awarded a grant from RIZE Massachusetts to investigate the role recovery coaches can play in recovery from opioid use disorder, the effect they can have on health outcomes and whether they are a cost-effective intervention.
Governor Charlie Baker in November 2017 announced reforms to fight the opioid epidemic that included a new commission to recommend standards for the credentialing of recovery coaches.
Led by Katharine London, MS, the team will perform a literature review, conduct interviews, identify states that certify recovery coaches, review payment models, build a sustainable financing model, prepare case studies, and develop policy recommendations.
Marybeth McCaffrey, JD, a principal at the Center, Jeremy Tourish, MPH, a policy analyst at the Center and Jeffrey L. Walter, MHSA, of JLW Associates LLC will also work on the project.
The Center has previous experience creating policy briefs and sustainable financing models aimed at cultivating and integrating community health workers into the health care system, as well as experience developing policy related to Medicaid services for individuals with substance use disorder.
RIZE is an independent non-profit in Massachusetts that raises funds from the private sector to support grants that focus on ending the opioid epidemic.