More than 80 Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) advocates convened on Capitol Hill Wednesday to urge Congress to extend and expand the CCBHC Medicaid demonstration program. Specifically, they’re asking lawmakers to support the Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Expansion Act (S. 824/H.R. 1767), which would expand the pilot by two years and […]
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a new final rule that will help behavioral health providers coordinate care by requiring hospitals to notify them when their patients have been admitted. The Interoperability and Patient Access rule applies to acute care, psychiatric and critical access hospitals that participate in Medicare and Medicaid. […]
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) has proposed a rule that would make it easier for behavioral health providers to remotely provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid-use disorder (OUD). The proposal would allow narcotic treatment programs to dispense methadone remotely using mobile units without requiring them to get separate registration to do so. Currently, providers have to […]
Most behavioral health providers agree it’s a good thing: The federal government continues to funnel more money into behavioral health initiatives, such as fighting the opioid epidemic and funding certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHC). But as providers find themselves with more federal dollars, they’re also more likely to face increased scrutiny over their practices, […]
The co-founder of a Pennsylvania addiction rehab center has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit health care fraud for his role in an “elaborate” insurance scheme, according to the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). The scheme fraudulently billed insurers for more than $100 million, local newspaper The Intelligencer reported. Defendant Branden Coluccio entered the plea […]
After years of being neglected, behavioral health issues are finally getting some attention in Washington, D.C. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has opened new up reimbursement opportunities for behavioral health services; the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) continues to roll out additional grants; and a growing number of state […]
Psychiatric hospitals that participate in Medicare will soon see changes to the way they’re surveyed for compliance. Currently, providers are surveyed twice to ensure compliance with two different sets of guidelines, or conditions of participation (CoPs). But starting in March, those surveys will be consolidated into one, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) […]
UnitedHealth Group avoided a parity fight Monday, when a California federal judge dismissed a lawsuit claiming the insurer unfairly denied a man his right to receive coverage for addiction treatment. However, the insurer isn’t in the clear just yet, according to Law 360. The class action suit, originally filed last July, stated that the lead […]
The one-time owner of more than a dozen Los Angeles-area substance abuse treatment centers has been indicted on charges he operated a massive $175 million billing scheme. Robert Bathum, who has called himself the “Rehab Mogul,” pleaded no contest Monday in Los Angeles County Superior Court to 14 felony counts of grand theft, insurance fraud, […]
The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration program is set to be extended through May 2020. That’s thanks to the fiscal year 2020 funding package President Donald Trump is set to sign by midnight on Friday, Dec. 20. Congress passed the legislation earlier this week. Without the package, funding for the program would run […]
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