MAR NOW Pilot Program Hotline for Opioid Treatment in Chicago
Hotline provides immediate access to life-saving medications regardless of insurance or ability to pay.
What you should know:
CDPH announced the launch of MAR NOW (Medication Assisted Recovery NOW) with Illinois Department of Human Services/Substance Use Prevention and Recovery (IDHS/SUPR) and the treatment provider Family Guidance Centers on May 19. MAR NOW operates through the existing 24/7 Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances at 833-234-6343. Between 6am-10pm 7 days/week, callers in Chicago looking for treatment for opioid use disorder can call the Helpline and be directly linked to a Family Guidance Centers care manager and provider. Family Guidance Centers can prescribe buprenorphine over the phone or connect the patient to a same-day appointment for methadone or naltrexone. Calls received after hours will be returned the next day. The program is open to all Chicagoans, regardless of insurance status, documentation, or ability to pay. Family Guidance Centers care managers will arrange transportation for all patients to the pharmacy or clinic, and connect patients to ongoing MAR care with a community provider.
Hotline provides immediate help in overcoming historical long waiting periods to receive opioid medical treatment
MAR NOW is a collaboration between CDPH, IDHS/SUPR, and treatment provider Family Guidance Centers, Inc., which has been providing medication assisted recovery (MAR) in Chicago for over 50 years. MAR NOW operates through the existing 24/7 Illinois Helpline for Opioids and Other Substances.
1,302 people died of an opioid overdose in Chicago in 2020, a 52% increase over 2019 and the highest number ever recorded in the City. Most overdoses in Chicago occur among males and non-Latinx Black populations. Overdose is one of the leading causes of the 10-year life expectancy gap between Black and white Chicagoans, a gap which widened during the pandemic. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced the U.S. surpassed 107,000 deaths from drug overdoses in 2021, an all-time high and a 15 percent increase from the previous record set in 2020.
MAR NOW changes all of this. The program takes advantage of COVID-induced changes to federal regulations that allow patients to begin treatment at home after an initial telephonic appointment with a provider. This will vastly expand access to opioid use disorder treatment by providing immediate, easy access to MAR: an individual can speak directly with a provider over the phone, immediately receive a prescription or same-day in-person appointment, and get transportation assistance to the pharmacy or clinic, all at the same time.