[UPDATED] Federal Funding Freeze Attempt, Medicaid Portal Outage Signal ‘Systemic Risks’ for Behavioral Health Providers

Behavioral health providers have faced regulatory uncertainty regarding government funding and access to Medicaid this week. The Trump administration issued a funding freeze on Monday only for it to be blocked by a federal judge on Tuesday. States reported outages to the Medicaid portal on Tuesday and more interruptions on Wednesday, while the White House […]

Addiction Treatment in 2024: Navigating Privacy Challenges, Telehealth Shifts, Reimbursement Reforms

The landscape of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in 2024 was a tapestry of challenges, technological disruptions and unexpected breakthroughs. A staggering data leak exposed the personal information of 100 million patients. Economic pressures forced some SUD providers to retreat from certain state markets, and long-anticipated regulatory changes were once again delayed, leaving the industry […]

From Diversifying Services to Acquiring Patients: How SUD Executives Are Navigating Industry Growing Pains

Certain sectors of behavioral health care are still “growing up.” For example, some industry insiders have said the autism therapy industry is in its toddler phase. The SUD industry, meanwhile, is working to shed some of the associations of its youth and enter a more adult era of addiction treatment. Some providers are modernizing their […]

Diversifying Operations, Building Partnerships Critical to Addiction Treatment Revenue Growth

Substance use disorder (SUD) providers are looking for new ways to expand their business offerings and partners to boost revenue.  Diversifying offerings is one of the most popular ways to improve revenue generation. For many providers, this means increasing their continuum of care to include acute residential services through intensive outpatient programs [IOPs] and outpatient […]

Dispelling Medicaid Myths and Removing Barriers for Value-Based Behavioral Health Care

State Medicaid programs and their managed care organization (MCO) partners are amenable to value-based care contracting. However, misconceptions remain as the industry navigates the early stages of value-based care adoption. This openness allows companies to come to the table with new or different approaches to contracting, opening the door to escaping the fee-for-service paradigm. “The […]

88% of Addiction Treatment Provider Groups Recover Together’s Contracts Utilize Value-Based Care

Almost 90% of opioid use disorder (OUD) treatment provider Groups Recover Together’s new payer contracts included a value-based care element. This starkly contrasts the vast majority of SUD providers, which still use the fee-for-service model. Value-based care can align payers’ and providers’ interests, encourage providers to provide the most effective pathways to treatment and result […]

‘Groundswell’ of States Pursue Medicaid for Incarcerated People Pre-Release After California’s Success

A slew of states are pursuing Medicaid coverage for incarcerated populations ahead of their release from prison as a means to address substance use disorders.  In Jan. of 2023, California received federal approval to provide people in correctional facilities with Medicaid services before their release. One year later, a “groundswell” of other states seek to […]

Addiction Providers Embrace Harm Reduction and MAT, But Abstinence-Based Treatment Isn’t Dead Yet

The substance use disorder (SUD) treatment industry is beginning to move away from an abstinence-only approach to care toward harm-reduction and medication-assisted treatment approaches. Research demonstrates that abstinence-based SUD treatment is deadlier than no treatment at all. Despite shifts in the industry away from a concept of recovery that involves strict abstinence, providers say that […]

Medicaid Making Major Progress in SUD, But Critical Coverage Gaps Remain

Stephanie Strong founded Boulder Care in 2017 with an ambitious goal: build a profitable substance use disorder (SUD) treatment business that would also accept Medicaid patients, many caught up in the opioid epidemic. Strong’s timing proved auspicious. Over a year later, a new federal law came into effect requiring states to cover federally approved opioid […]