OIG Report Suggests Medicare Beneficiaries May Struggle to Access MAT, Naloxone

A new report from the Office of Inspector General (OIG) suggests Medicare beneficiaries could be struggling to access medication-assisted treatment (MAT) and opioid overdose reversal drugs like naloxone.  The OIG found that nearly 25% of all Part D beneficiaries were prescribed opioids last year — and more than 43,000 Part D beneficiaries suffered some type […]

UnitedHealthcare To Pay $15.6M In Parity Settlement, As DOL Picks Up MHPAEA Enforcement

United Behavioral Health and United Healthcare Insurance have agreed to pay a total of $15.6 million and take corrective actions to resolve violations of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA). The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) announced the news Thursday following investigations and litigation by the DOL and the New […]

LifeStance Touts 94% Year-Over-Year Clinician Growth, Fueling Q2 Revenue Performance

The behavioral health workforce shortage has long been one of the biggest pain points for providers in the industry. Because clinicians are in short supply, recruiting and retaining them is notoriously difficult. But in the second quarter of 2021, LifeStance Health (Nasdaq: LFST) more than rose to that challenge, adding 674 net clinicians during its […]

Naloxone Shortage Hits U.S. As Overdose Deaths Reach All-Time High

Deadly drug overdoses hit a record high in 2020, killing more than 93,000 people in the U.S., according to preliminary data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in July. Now, a shortage of naloxone — a drug that reverses opioid overdoses — could make the problem even worse. Pfizer is at […]

Chicago-Based PE Firm Thurston Group Creates New Mental Health Platform, ARC Health

Thurston Group, a Chicago-based private equity firm focused on investing in health care companies, has created a new mental health platform called ARC Health. It formed the platform in partnership with Advanced Recovery Concepts, an Ohio-based outpatient mental health provider.  Many of the specifics around the new platform — such as the financial details of […]

Proposed Changes Would Make It Harder, More Expensive for Behavioral Defendants to Beat FCA Claims

As the behavioral health industry garners more national attention and funding, it’s also seeing more audits and repayment requests from payers. For example, in fiscal year (FY) 2020, the space saw a “marked uptick” in False Claims Act (FCA) settlements, according to Bass, Berry & Sims’ annual Healthcare Fraud & Abuse Review, which was released […]

How Behavioral Providers Can Fight Back Against False, Misleading Online Reviews

False or misleading online reviews can make or break a business, especially in the health care space. Negative reviews can hurt a provider’s reputation, referral rate and livelihood.  As such, it’s important for behavioral health providers to act quickly if and when libelous statements pop up online, according to Marc H. Kallish, a shareholder at […]

Origin Therapeutics Launches to Invest in Psychedelics Startups Focused on Behavioral Health

Investors bullish on the impact psychedelics could have in behavioral health treatment now have the opportunity to put their money where their mouth is. A new company focused on making equity investments in psychedelics-related companies just debuted, giving stakeholders an interesting case study to follow in months to come. The company in question is Origin […]

Acadia Reports 10% Volume Growth in Q2, Increases Guidance for 2021

Acadia Healthcare (Nasdaq: ACHC) has bounced back from COVID-19 and then some, the company’s second-quarter 2021 financials show. In fact, strong performance for the quarter prompted Acadia to up its guidance for the year. In Q2, Acadia reported a year-over-year jump in patient days of 9.8%. Admittedly, COVID-19 hurt Acadia’s volumes in Q2 2020; but […]