Recovery Incentives
Program: California’s Contingency Management Benefit
Update on the Recovery Incentives Program- January 2023
On August 19, 2022, DHCS issued a RFP to support the implementation of the California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) contingency management (CM) pilot program. Through the pilot, DHCS is committed to expanding access to evidence-based behavioral treatment to address the stimulant use disorder crisis that persists in California. CM, which provides motivational incentives to reduce the use of stimulants, is the only treatment that has demonstrated strongly positive outcomes for individuals with stimulant use disorder, including a reduction in or cessation of drug use and longer retention in treatment.
DHCS will implement the CM pilot program using an incentive manager
vendor. In November 2022, DHCS issued a Notice
of Intent to Award to Pear Therapeutics, Inc. The Recovery Incentives
Program is expected to launch in the first quarter of 2023.
What is Contingency Management?
Contingency Management (CM) is an evidence-based treatment that provides motivational incentives to treat individuals living with stimulant use disorder and support their path to recovery. It recognizes and reinforces individual positive behavioral change, as evidenced by drug tests that are negative for stimulants. CM is the only treatment that has demonstrated robust outcomes for individuals living with stimulant use disorder, including reduction or cessation of drug use and longer retention in treatment.
While CM has been tested using other sources of funding, California is the first state in the country to receive federal approval of CM as a benefit in the Medicaid program through the
CalAIM 1115 Demonstration.
About the Recovery Incentives Program
Participating Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) counties will launch the CM benefit in the first quarter of 2023, in accordance with approval from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services as part of the CalAIM 1115 Demonstration. Eligible Medi-Cal beneficiaries will participate in a structured 24-week outpatient program, followed by six or more months of additional recovery support services. Individuals will be able to earn motivational incentives in the form of low-denomination gift cards, with a retail value determined per treatment episode.
DMC-ODS Counties Participating in the Recovery Incentives Program
| Alameda | San Diego |
| Contra Costa | San Francisco |
| Fresno | San Joaquin |
| Imperial | San Luis Obispo |
| Kern | San Mateo |
| Los Angeles | Santa Barbara |
| Marin | Santa Clara |
| Nevada | Santa Cruz |
Orange
| Shasta |
| Riverside | Tulare
|
| Sacramento | Ventura
|
| San Bernardino | Yolo
|
Resources and Documents
Policy Documents
Note: DHCS renamed the “Contingency Management Pilot Program" to the “Recovery Incentives Program" in Summer 2022. Documents released pre-Summer 2022 use the previous program name.
Frequently Asked Questions
Informational Webinar on Pilot Program
- Thursday, January 20, 2022
Overview Training
DHCS hosts a publicly available self-paced online CM Overview Training. The course is a two-hour online training designed to provide a broad overview of the CM benefit for treating individuals living with stimulant use disorder. The on-demand course is free and is open to anyone interested in learning more about the Recovery Incentives Program. The course is required for all CM staff at provider sites participating in the Recovery Incentives Program.
Instructions for Registering for an Account and Accessing the CM Overview Training
To Register for an account, please visit the
PSATTC e-Learn Site
- Step 1. Click on the link above.
- Step 2. If you don't have an Account already, you will need to create your Account by clicking “Create an Account."
- Step 3.
Fill out the registration questions, which include Name, Email, Organization, Occupation, and Type of Continuing Education credit needed (if applicable). You will also create a username and password for your account. Please save your username and password.
Once you are registered, you can access the
course.
Additional details, including information about the training development team and continuing education, are available from the
Recovery Incentives Training and Implementation team.
