Montana this week received federal approval for substance-use disorder treatment providers with 17 or more beds to bill Medicaid, an expansion providers called a “game changer” for combating addiction across the state.

“Until now, we’ve been limited in the number of Medicaid members that we’ve been able to serve, despite an increased demand for treatment,” said Lenette Kosovich, CEO at Rimrock Foundation, the state’s largest provider of treatment for substance-use and co-occurring disorders.

The governor’s office and the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services announced the approval Wednesday. Federal law prohibits Medicaid payment to any institution for mental disease with 17 or more beds that provide substance-use or mental-health treatment. Last year, DPHHS applied for a waiver to expand the number of services not typically covered for Medicaid recipients. A DPHHS spokesperson said Wednesday during those negotiations, the department decided to ask the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to specifically waive the 17-bed exclusion in order to get that piece in place sooner while negotiations continue.