If you call Illinois’s helpline seeking assistance with opioid addiction, the phone will ring in Boston. State officials confirm that they gave the $1.2 million contract to the Boston firm.
They say they needed a company that could man the phones 24 hours a day, and handle up to 30,000 calls a year.
They also say going out of state reduces the risk of a “conflict of interest” when people on the helpline refer a caller for treatment. More than a thousand people have already called the Illinois helpline.