The Trump administration’s new drug policy prioritizes a focus on border security and law enforcement. This approach deviates from past efforts, which have focused on a patient and health care-centric approach to combating the opioid epidemic.  “To meet the urgent need of this moment, the Trump administration is launching an unprecedented whole-of-government effort to stop […]

The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation has announced the roll-out of a new integrated care model that combines mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment. The project aims to push the envelope on whole-person care adoption among behavioral health providers, with plans to eventually even scale its “next-generation” approach to partnerships with other systems. Across […]

More patients with opioid use disorder (OUD) are turning to extended-release buprenorphine to treat their substance use than ever before. However, prescription use of non-extended release formulations has declined, according to a Massachusetts-focused study published in JAMA Network Open. Throughout the state, men were also more likely to be prescribed the extended-release version than women. […]

Fewer than one in five Medicare patients with a substance use disorder (SUD) receive medication-assisted-treatment (MAT), including popular options such as buprenorphine and methadone, to treat their condition. Still, the number of providers prescribing buprenorphine for Medicare beneficiaries rose by 32% in 2023. This is according to a new report from the U.S. Department of […]

Peer specialists – individuals with lived experience of mental illness or substance use disorder (SUD) – have become a growing and increasingly formalized component of behavioral health care in recent years. New legislation introduced on Tuesday aims to build upon that momentum. On April 8, U.S. Senators Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Jim Banks (R-Ind.) introduced […]

HC Jones, Inc., branded as Jones, disclosed raising $9 million of a $10.2 million equity funding round. The New York City-based digital nicotine cessation company offers a nicotine lozenge delivery service and an AI-powered app that includes supportive content, progress tracking and connections to a community of Jones users. It couches its service and products […]

This is an exclusive BHB+ story Reimbursement is a struggle for many subsectors of the health care industry, and the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment industry is no exception. For providers, negotiating service rates with payers is a perennial struggle – but some services are worth providing even without payment. Alumni services, programming offered to […]

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have delayed the finalization of a rule meant to lock in addiction treatment-related telehealth flexibilities first implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic. On March 20, the agencies released the text of a final rule that pushed back the effective date of […]

Denver-based addiction treatment providers AspenRidge Recovery and Colorado Medication-Assisted Recovery have merged. It’s not yet clear which organization is the acquirer. It’s also unclear which investment firms, if any, are involved. A request for comment has not been returned. Cortland Mathers-Suter founded each, and he will take on the CEO role of the combined company. […]

Nine outpatient addiction treatment organizations have launched a new industry advocacy organization focused on office-based outpatient treatment (OBOT). Monikered the National Alliance for Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Solutions (NACATS), the nonprofit advocacy organization is led by Spero Health co-founder and CEO Steve Priest. He has taken on the role of president of the organization. In its […]