Through a program called the Recovery Incentives Pilot, the state is throwing money towards incentivizing clean living. Michigan is now offering cash rewards to encourage sobriety with money for the program supported by the federal government and $6 million in opioid settlement funds.

Cash for clean living.

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Partnering with CHESS Health, MDHHS plans to launch this incentive-based program starting January 2025, running through December 2026. The idea is simple: If Medicaid and Healthy Michigan Plan beneficiaries can prove they’re staying clean and actively engaging in treatment, they’ll earn rewards in the form of reloadable debit cards.

Structured support and incentives for overcoming stimulant and opioid use.

The program is designed to address stimulant use disorders (StimUD) and opioid use disorders (OUD) and consists of 24 weeks with weeks 1-12 serving as the escalation/reset/recover period with two CM (contingency management) visits per week and then weeks 13-24 serving as the “maintenance” period with one CM visit per week.

According to MDHHS, the maximum incentive a beneficiary can receive under the program is capped at $599 per calendar year. Recipients will receive gift cards as a reward for meeting their treatment goals, such as providing negative drug tests for stimulants and/or opioids. The incentives increase each week they remain drug-free but reset to a lower amount if they test positive or miss a session.

According to Elizabeth Hertel, MDHHS director, this program is part of Michigan’s leading-edge effort to use the latest in evidence-based tools to address substance use disorder. With over three decades of research supporting the idea that cash incentives can boost treatment retention and medication adherence, MDHHS seems confident that people will indeed stay on the straight and narrow if there’s enough cash as an incentive.

Science-backed or bribe-packed?

The concept behind the Recovery Incentives Pilot is rooted in something called contingency management – fancy talk for using positive reinforcement to promote healthy behavior. Contingency management, according to the MDHHS documents on the program, can be used as a standalone intervention or in combination with other treatment options including medication for OUD – and in this case, it includes cold, hard cash.

Hans Morefield, CEO of CHESS Health, was quick to praise the program’s potential, stating, “Offering immediate and customized rewards enhances treatment engagement and retention, resulting in better outcomes for individuals with SUD.”