Rochester, New York, June 25, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CHESS Health is partnering with Porch Light HealthⓇ (PLH) to offer its innovative, automated contingency management Rewards Engine for treating individuals with substance use disorder (SUD). PLH’s program, called Porch Light Rewards, is being piloted as a tool to motivate patients to stay in Medication for Addiction Treatment (MAT), engage in counseling, and abstain from substance use.
As a multi-location provider with over 60 locations, dozens of staff, and thousands of patients, PLH sought a contingency management platform that was simple and reliable to meet its outcome and retention goals. Working closely with the CHESS Health team, PLH successfully launched the Rewards Engine pilot across thirteen Colorado locations in just four weeks—demonstrating the platform's ease of implementation and rapid deployment capabilities.
The CHESS Health Rewards Engine streamlines contingency management for providers by digitizing the incentive protocol, offering a user-friendly web dashboard for staff, automatically delivering rewards to a reloadable debit card provided to each patient, utilizing text messages to deliver positive reinforcements, and ensuring programs stay within budget with zero errors. In addition, thorough and accurate tracking of reward distribution was critical, as six sources, including opioid settlement dollars, funded the solution. CHESS Health’s Rewards Engine can seamlessly manage this level of complex reporting.
In the first six weeks following the program launch, PLH has enrolled over 125 patients in the program, and feedback from both patients and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. Engagement and outcomes are tracked using the CHESS platform; initial data on patient retention improvements will be available in late June. Outcomes will be tracked over the next 12 months.
Steve Carleton, LCSW, CAS-Chief Clinical Officer at PLH, brings 20 years of SUD treatment experience. "Contingency management is hands down the best and most effective treatment for individuals with a stimulant use disorder. There are no other medical or behavioral treatments that come close to contingency management outcomes in this population," noted Carleton. "However, the biggest barrier has traditionally been the administrative burden—tracking eligibility, managing rewards, maintaining documentation, and coordinating staff efforts pulls clinical teams away from patient care. CHESS Health's Rewards Engine eliminated these burdens by automatically handling criteria verification, documentation, and reward distribution, allowing our clinicians to focus on treating patients."
“Contingency management works, but without automation, it’s really hard for providers to implement and maintain,” said Hans Morefield, CEO of CHESS Health. ”We’re pleased to be making effective contingency management easy and successful for Porch Light Health.”
About Porch Light Health
Porch Light Health’s mission (formerly Front Range Clinic), is to provide low-barrier, high-access, quality medical addiction treatment to those affected by substance use disorders and related medical conditions. Porch Light Health offers comprehensive outpatient addiction treatment services for substance use disorders, including Opioids, Alcohol, Stimulants, Sedatives, as well as nicotine and cannabis use. In addition to evidence-based medications for addiction treatment, PLH offers psychiatry, therapy, and treatment for infectious disease and other comorbidities. For more information about Porch Light Health and its comprehensive addiction treatment services, call 866-MAT-STAT or visit https://porchlighthealth.com.
About CHESS Health
CHESS Health is a leading provider of evidence-based digital behavioral health solutions backed by peer support. These tools empower providers, health plans, and public sector organizations to address the substance use disorder crisis by enhancing prevention, facilitating care coordination, and improving adherence to care plans and treatment retention, ultimately resulting in better health outcomes. For more information, visit www.chess.health.
Meg Miller CHESS Health 4144699702 mmiller@chess.health
