Governor Wolf Joins AmeriHealth Caritas to Launch New Opioid Overdose Reversal Training Program for Its Employees

May 22, 2019 Off By BusinessWire

Company Expands Its Opioid Blueprint in Order to Reduce Overdose
Death in Underserved Communities

PHILADELPHIA–(BUSINESS WIRE)–lt;a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmeriHealthCaritas?src=hash" target="_blank"gt;#AmeriHealthCaritaslt;/agt;–AmeriHealth
Caritas
, a national leader in Medicaid managed care and other health
care solutions for those most in need, announced today a new program to
train its employees on the use of naloxone, also known as NARCAN®. As
part of this program, employees will also be able to receive naloxone
toolkits in a first-ever program by a managed care organization (MCO) in
the Commonwealth. Governor Wolf and members of his Administration joined
the rollout, which included a series of overdose reversal trainings in
the Pennsylvania State Capitol Complex.


AmeriHealth Caritas is a leading employer in Pennsylvania, with over
3,100 employees in the Commonwealth and over 6,100 nationally, and is
the Commonwealth’s largest Medicaid managed care company, serving over
620,000 members. Many of the company’s employees serve on the front line
in vulnerable and underserved communities, providing face-to-face
assistance to help residents access health care. The Medicaid managed
care organization will provide training and make naloxone toolkits
available to allow employees to respond to an overdose by administering
the overdose reversal drug. The program will first launch in the
Commonwealth, and will later expand to all 6,100 employees in other
states.

“We need all hands on deck to confront this crisis,” said Governor Tom
Wolf. “We’ve made progress in the past year, but there is more work to
be done at all levels. That starts with saving lives and NARCAN is doing
that. Today’s training is one more way to continue to battle this crisis
and to learn how we can connect those impacted with resources and
supports.”

“We’re honored to have Governor Wolf with us as we expand our Opioid
Blueprint to serve our members in Pennsylvania,” said AmeriHealth
Caritas Chairman and CEO Paul Tufano. “As a company that is deeply
embedded in the communities we serve, we witness the struggles our
members face. Opioid addiction doesn’t discriminate—regardless of
income, race, gender or age, it has had a devastating effect on our
neighbors, friends, families and co-workers. The struggle against opioid
addiction is one no one should face alone, and we’ll do everything we
can so more lives are not lost to this disease.”

Pennsylvania saw 4,267 overdose fatalities in 2018. Governor Wolf signed
a disaster declaration in January of 2018 and has continued to extend
the declaration to reflect the ongoing nature of the crisis. Dr. Rachel
Levine, Pennsylvania Secretary of Health, has issued a standing
statewide prescription to make naloxone available to the general public.

AmeriHealth Caritas’ Opioid Blueprint

Intervention, member engagement and increased access to naloxone are
vital to AmeriHealth Caritas’ multi-faceted Opioid Blueprint, a
comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to prevent and combat substance
use disorders. The Opioid Blueprint also provides an engagement strategy
to help ensure AmeriHealth Caritas members have access to behavioral
health treatment for Opioid Use Disorder (OUD).

Additional information about the company’s Opioid Blueprint is available here.

About AmeriHealth Caritas

AmeriHealth Caritas is one of the nation’s leaders in health care
solutions for those most in need. Operating in 11 states and the
District of Columbia, AmeriHealth Caritas serves more than 5 million
Medicaid, Medicare, and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
members through its integrated managed care products, pharmaceutical
benefit management and specialty pharmacy services, and behavioral
health services. Headquartered in Philadelphia, AmeriHealth Caritas is a
mission-driven organization with more than 35 years of experience
serving low-income and chronically ill populations. AmeriHealth Caritas
is part of the Independence Health Group in partnership with Blue Cross
Blue Shield of Michigan.

Contacts

Monica Lewis
Tel: 215-280-8707
[email protected]