D2 - The Recovery Incentives Program: California's Contingency Management Benefit for Medicaid Beneficiaries With Stimulant Use Disorders

Monday, May 5, 2025

3:15 PM – 4:15 PM ET

Location: 103B

Contingency management (CM)—a psychosocial intervention that uses incentives to positively reinforce abstinence from substances—is the most effective treatment for stimulant use disorders, and it is highly effective for other substance use disorders (SUDs). California became the first state to deliver CM services to Medicaid beneficiaries in 2023. Presenters will discuss California’s experience implementing CM at over 150 sites statewide, CM’s impact on client outcomes, staff/administrator experiences with CM, lessons learned during California’s CM implementation, and implications for future policy. The workshop will be highly interactive, facilitating discussion about CM and its potential implementation nationwide.

Learning Objectives:

Analyze the effectiveness of California's implementation of evidence-based contingency management services to treat stimulant use disorders among Medicaid beneficiaries, including impacts on substance use and quality-of-life outcomes.
Identify lessons learned about delivery of contingency management in a large state's Medicaid system of care, including implementation barriers and strategies to overcome them.
Explore implications of early lessons learned from California's Recovery Incentives Program for other states considering offering contingency management to Medicaid beneficiaries, and for federal policy regarding incentives in Medicaid programs.

Breakout Presenter(s)

Howard Padwa, PhD

Research Scientist
University of California, Los Angeles, Integrated Substance Use and Addiction Programs
Santa Monica, California
Richard Rawson, PhD

Professor
University of Vermont and University of California, Los Angeles
Los Angeles, California