The Indiana Family and Social Services Administration was one of 10 organizations nationally to receive federal dollars to combat the opioid academic.
The state said $5.2 million in grant dollars will be used to improve the coordination of clinical care and the integration of other services that are essential for maternal and child health, well-being and sustained recovery. The grant is part of the Maternal Opioid Misuse Indiana initiative, which is a cooperative agreement between the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration and the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, which addresses opioid use disorder in pregnancy.
Indiana was one of 10 states selected to receive funding under the Maternal Opioid Misuse model.
“There are many difficulties that pregnant women with substance use disorders face,” said Dr. Dan Rusyniak, FSSA chief medical officer. “The goal of this grant is to make sure that navigating health care is not one of them.”
FSSA has partnered with its four Medicaid managed care programs (Anthem, CareSource, MDwise and MHS) on a four-pronged approach, which includes: cooperative care coordination, increased provider education, addressing social determinants of health, and extending Medicaid coverage.
“Through this program we will address two critical initiatives in this administration: lowering infant mortality and attacking the drug epidemic,” said Dr. Jennifer Sullivan, FSSA secretary. “This project highlights Indiana’s emphasis on cross-agency and community partnerships to address our most-pressing public health issues.”
A 2018 Indiana University study found opioid overdose deaths in the state have rose by more than 500% the past 15 years and misuse of these drugs has cost Indiana billions in economic damage. More than 12,300 state residents are estimated to have died between 2003 and 2017 due to opioid overdoses — nearly the same number of people who live in Pike County in southern Indiana.
