[Updated] Who Does the Accrediting? New Autism Therapy Regulation Highlights Big Question for the Industry

Last month, Massachusetts became the first state to require applied behavioral analysis (ABA) providers to become accredited. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services adopted the new rule in October after the Massachusetts attorney general and inspector general questioned the level of quality control at ABA clinics in the past year. Providers who […]

Earnings Season Proved Behavioral Health Is Under the Spotlight and the Microscope

The coronavirus pandemic and massive influx of capital into the industry over the past five years have put the behavioral health industry centerstage in the proverbial play that is American health care. But the spotlight eventually attracts the microscope. The industry has and will continue to face greater scrutiny, examination, criticism and challenges than ever […]

Going Nuclear: In Suing NIMBY Cities, Behavioral Health Providers Face Major Dilemma

Earlier this year, the city commission of Stuart, Florida, said “no” to a zoning variance requested by Behavioral Health Centers LLC, which sought to repurpose an existing building into a mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) center. The commission, and residents of the Florida Treasure Coast town, feared that the clinic’s patients would cause […]

Holistic Autism Care Models Demonstrate Industry’s Best-Case Scenario

The autism therapy industry’s advancement toward holistic autism care models embodies a powerful through line in the collective story of behavioral health. That through line, in part and in brief, is the fact that behavioral health must do more and be more than it ever has before. The need and opportunity for the industry to […]

Build, Lease or Buy: Behavioral Health Providers Debate Best AI Strategies

Behavioral health providers are increasingly using artificial intelligence (AI) to improve efficiency, personalize treatment pathways and produce outcomes. How best to develop an AI-enabled technology stack remains unclear, however. While leasing AI technology from vendors is a relatively easy path to keep up with the digital Joneses, providers with more specialized needs or those looking […]

How Magellan Health Selects Behavioral Health Partners: A Conversation with Magellan Health President of Behavioral Health Dr. Caroline Carney

Behavioral health stands apart from other health care specialties, for one, because of a lack of standardized outcome measurements. Without these markers, health plans must evaluate potential provider partnerships through a different lens, developing alternative criteria to ensure high-quality treatment for members and cost savings for the health plans. In this BHB+ TALKS conversation, reporter […]

Billion-Dollar Legal Losses Could Force Payers to Reevaluate Their Behavioral Health Strategies

Payers don’t lose. That’s been true in the health care space for, pretty much, forever. But I’m tracking a handful of developments that kick at discrete moments of accountability for health plans. The health insurance industry is a land of leviathans. Today, there are four, maybe five, companies that truly matter in the grand scheme. […]

Driving Change: How Mobile Vans Are Transforming SUD Treatment

Lack of transportation is one of the most common barriers to care for people with opioid use disorder (OUD). Some providers are surmounting this problem by bringing care directly to patients. Mobile vans are used by both nonprofit and for-profit substance use disorder (SUD) providers to target people who struggle to access treatment through traditional […]

Court Ruling Could Massively Curb Health Care Litigation: What Behavioral Health Operators Should Know

A Florida federal court ruling issued last month could lead to a “massive sea change” in what lawsuits can be brought against behavioral health companies. That is the interpretation of Gregory Jones, a principal at the law firm Polsinelli’s Los Angeles office, who represents health care companies, including in False Claims Act (FCA) cases. FCA […]

SUD Treatment Providers Adapting to Market Pressures Through Payer Relations, Service Integration

The substance use disorder (SUD) treatment industry was formerly dotted by small, local providers. In the future, these mom-and-pop providers may go the way of cottage businesses during the Industrial Revolution. To be clear, SUD treatment has not yet been completely limited to assembly lines. Small providers still abound. At the recent Behavioral Health Business […]