Medication-Assisted Treatment Use Up Among Medicaid Beneficiaries — But Roadblocks Remain

The number of Medicaid beneficiaries receiving medication-assisted treatment (MAT) to fight opioid use-disorder (OUD) is growing — but significant barriers to access remain. Between 2013 to 2017, the number of Medicaid prescriptions for MAT medications boomed, tripling for one drug — buprenorphine — and quadrupling for another — naltrexone. Despite the spike, 56% of beneficiaries […]

Medicaid Presents Growing Opportunity for Behavioral Health Providers

As payers continue to recognize the importance of and the demand for behavioral health care, coverage for those services is expanding like never before. While that’s true across the board, the Medicaid program could present special opportunities for behavioral health care providers in the years to come, according to some legal experts. “Medicaid is an […]

VC Interest in Digital Behavioral Health Companies Remains Hot

Venture capitalists continued to take a special interest in digital behavioral health companies in the third quarter of 2019, keeping alive a three-year steak of hot deal activity in the space. That’s according to a Q3 report from Rock Health, a venture fund that invests only in digital health companies. Across all sectors, digital health […]

$1.8B Autism Funding Bill to Expand Access to Services

The Autism Collaboration, Accountability, Research, Education and Support Act — or the Autism CARES Act — has been reauthorized for another five years. President Donald Trump signed the bill into law on Sept. 30. It authorizes more than $1.8 billion in federal autism funding for 2020 through 2024. The money will help finance autism programs […]

Behavioral Health Startup Octave Raises $11M

Behavioral health startup Octave has raised $11 million in Series A funding. That brings the San Francisco-based company’s total raised up to $14 million, according to the online startup fundraising tracker Crunchbase. The investment round was led by New York-based private equity firm Greycroft, with money also coming from San Francisco-based venture capital firm Obvious […]