Center for Behavioral Health Research & Services, University of Alaska Anchorage
Abstract
The purpose of this report was to review existing reimbursement policies by state
Medicaid agency, including the District of Columbia (D.C.), in order to understand similarities
and differences associated with financial compensation for alcohol screening and brief
intervention (SBI) services. Alcohol SBI is an evidence-based practice known to help reduce atrisk
alcohol consumption among patients who drink too much.
1 Although alcohol SBI was
designed to be a population-based approach to address unhealthy alcohol consumption, its
current utilization is limited.
2
Implementation of the practice into routine clinical care remains a
challenge at the health system level even with support from federal resources (e.g., SBIRT:
Screening, Brief Intervention, and Referral to Treatment). One way to encourage the uptake of
alcohol SBI/SBIRT among providers is to ensure that the service is reimbursable by third-party
payers. However, reimbursement opportunities vary by state and payer, and in some locations
are non-existent. Information about the current status of policies will assist in the development
of policies and incentives to encourage healthcare providers and systems to submit claims for
alcohol SBI/SBIRT and potentially increase the routine uptake of the service in clinical careCenters for Disease Control and Prevention
Cooperative Agreement Number DD00114
