Northwest Milwaukee site to join effort to test model emphasizing care coordination in the treatment of substance use disorder

The Department of Health Services (DHS) will be adding a fourth site to a program initiated in 2020 that pilots a hub and spoke approach to treating Wisconsin Medicaid members affected by substance use disorder and physical and behavioral health issues that challenge their efforts in recovery. Vin Baker Recovery of Milwaukee was selected in a process earlier this year. The organization's startup costs as a pilot program participant will be funded through Wisconsin’s 2022 share of the National Prescription Opiate Litigation settlement. Nearly all of those funds have been distributed to agencies providing prevention, harm reduction, treatment, and recovery support.

Under the pilot, individual organizations take the lead as a “hub” on the care of people in their program, ensuring that substance use disorder treatment and other health care needs are addressed. Hub teams include peer providers who have lived experience with substance use to improve member engagement with their treatment. Each team develops individualized integrated care plans, implements those plans through connections and referrals, and facilitates members’ treatment across different settings. Each hub then works with a network of “spoke” organizations that provide a range of services customized to further address each member’s unique circumstances. 

“Adding a site to this promising pilot will increase our understanding of how this model works in another setting,” said DHS Secretary-designee Kirsten Johnson. “Better yet, it means more members can receive individualized services and improved access to the necessary physical health care providers, prescribers, and behavior health specialists, leading to better overall health outcomes.”

View the entire news release.