A.N.D. Unveils a “Simple Solution” to Improve Substance Use Disorder and Mental Health Treatment in Delaware
The four-part approach brings together tools Delaware already has in place to help service providers offer more comprehensive and efficient treatment for substance use disorder and mental health issues.
Today, the Ability Network of Delaware (A.N.D.) unveiled a new website detailing the four-part plan to improve substance use disorder and mental health treatment in Delaware. The approach, first launched during Behavioral Health Advocacy Day in April, brings together existing tools and strategies in Delaware in new ways that will allow service providers to offer more efficient treatment by removing the unnecessary roadblocks that hinder their work. The details of this plan are available at the new “Simple Solution Delaware” website, www.simplesolutiondelaware.com.
“Delaware already has many of the tools in place to treat substance use disorder and mental health issues effectively, but sometimes these tools don’t communicate well with each other,” said Carolyn Petrak, associate executive director of the Ability Network of Delaware. Petrak also serves as a member of the Behavioral Health Consortium at the request of Lt. Gov. Bethany Hall-Long. “While we realize there are no easy answers to these complex issues, this ‘simple solution’ will help the State and service providers connect the dots in areas that continue to represent significant barriers to effective treatment.”
The Ability Network of Delaware’s “Simple Solution” includes:
- Completing a Rate Study: Performing a rate study will help rectify the existing gap between the actual cost of treatment and the inadequate payment most providers receive for services rendered.
- Publishing Reimbursement Rates: Publishing reimbursement rates for services to treat substance use disorder and mental health issues helps to avoid inconsistency and uncertainty.
- Credentialing Facilities, Not Individual Providers: Red tape makes substance use disorder treatment grind to a halt. Credentialing facilities, instead of individual providers in those facilities, will help to speed treatment and ensures people get the help and care they need faster.
- Updating the Prompt Payment Law: Providers of treatment services are reimbursed slowly and sometimes not at all. By updating Delaware’s Prompt Payment Law, providers will receive faster payment for services to keep their businesses healthy and operational.
More details on this “Simple Solution,” including downloadable infographics that tell the story of each aspect of the approach, are available at www.simplesolutiondelaware.com.
About the Ability Network of Delaware
By uniting and focusing on what we can achieve together, the Ability Network of Delaware (formerly DelARF) builds strength across Delaware’s disability community. We are a connecting force that functions as a statewide membership association of agencies, all working to support people with disabilities. Membership is open to organizations that provide direct services, advocacy and/or educational services to Delawareans with disabilities, their families and advocates. www.abilitynetworkde.org.