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For a decade, North Dakota’s Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Voucher program has removed
one of the biggest barriers to addiction recovery for eligible residents: paying for treatment. According to the state’s Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), nearly 12,000 North Dakotans have now used the vouchers to access evidence-based SUD treatment, marking 10 years of the program.
What is the SUD Voucher Program and how does it work?
Created by the North Dakota Legislature in 2015 and administered by HHS, the SUD Voucher Program helps eligible residents access evidence-based substance use disorder treatment when financial difficulty might otherwise delay or impede care. [1]
It’s a last resort for North Dakotans who don’t have private health insurance, Medicaid, or personal income and savings to cover the cost of addiction treatment. Vouchers can also step in while North Dakotans are waiting for Medicaid applications to be approved.
“The SUD Voucher ensures that when someone is ready for recovery, a lack of money or insurance doesn't stand in their way,” says Lacresha Graham, the HHS manager of addiction treatment and recovery.
The voucher also allows residents to choose care that works for them. The vouchers can be used at dozens of drug and alcohol treatment centers in North Dakota, including residential treatment facilities, outpatient clinics, hospital-based programs, opioid treatment programs, counseling centers, and recovery support organizations.
The voucher can pay for a range of services involved in SUD treatment, from screening and assessment to individual, group, and family therapy and peer support. The vouchers can also cover transportation, room and board at residential treatment facilities, urinalysis, and methadone maintenance. [1]
Voucher programs at a glance
- North Dakota’s SUD Voucher program allows residents without insurance or financial resources, including those waiting for Medicaid applications to be approved, to access evidence-based SUD treatment.
- SUD vouchers can be used at a participating provider of the person’s choosing, including inpatient and outpatient rehab.
- Since its launch in 2015, the program has helped nearly 12,000 state residents access treatment.
How North Dakota HHS has helped thousands access addiction treatment
Since the program’s inception, 11,690 North Dakotans have used the vouchers to access SUD treatment, HHS said.
One of those is Tyler Nutting, who said the program helped him “during one of the most critical moments” of his life.
“The SUD Voucher program allowed me to enter treatment at the exact moment I was ready," he said. “Without it, I would have had to wait for insurance, and that delay could have cost me my life. Before entering recovery, I had overdosed more than 15 times.”
Nutting recently marked two years of sobriety. He’s employed, studying, in stable housing, and working on rebuilding relationships with family and friends, including his daughters.
“This program does much more than provide funding for treatment,” he said. “It gives people like me a real opportunity to recover, rebuild our lives, and become productive members of our communities.”
Why programs like North Dakota’s SUD Voucher matter
Providers have seen firsthand how timely access to treatment has transformed lives in North Dakota.
"We've seen individuals enter treatment through the voucher program, achieve lasting recovery, reunite with their families, find meaningful employment, and become active members of their communities,” Ryan Messer, chief financial officer at Heartview Foundation in Bismarck, said.
“Those stories remind us that timely access to treatment can change not only one life, but generations of lives."
