The PAARI was co-founded in June by Leonard Campanello, the police chief in Gloucester, Mass. In the spring, he invited addicts to come to the police station to turn in drugs and paraphernalia. Rather than arresting them, Police Chief Campanello offered to help them seek treatment, according to The Boston Globe.
Since then, the program has helped over 360 individuals seek treatment, and 16 Massachusetts police departments have adopted similar programs. But this is the first time any of them have partnered with an insurer.
Through the partnership, addicted individuals will arrive at the police station and complete a form naming their insurance company. The Gloucester police will call the insurer, and patients will receive a pamphlet outlining specific treatment options and medications.
“They’re going to offer us the ability to do what we set out to do from the beginning,” Police Chief Campanello said to The Boston Globe. “It’s a big burden off of law enforcement’s shoulders.”
Lora Pellegrinia, president and CEO of MAHP, highlighted how insurers don’t realize a consumer has sought treatment until the claims come in. “Too often, people will receive one aspect of treatment and don’t follow up,” she said, according to The Boston Globe.
The program will launch Jan. 4 and will include the 17 insurers that are part of MAHP, as well as the insurers that manage care for members of the state’s Medicaid program.
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