Youth Recovery Hinges on Community Support, Yet Providers Lack Reimbursement Pathway

This is an exclusive BHB+ story Psychosocial interventions continue to be the primary way to treat youth substance use disorders (SUDs). Yet, these approaches are often formal and miss the mark on building community. “I feel like mental health treatment in particular is very sterile. It’s very focused on meds and one-to-one interactions,” Dr. Joseph […]

Optum CEO Moves to UnitedHealth Group Role; Forge Health CEO Changes Seats in C-Suite

Optum CEO moves to enterprise role at UnitedHealth Group, successor named Heather Cianfrocco, the CEO of Optum, will move to the role of executive vice president of governance, compliance and information security at Optum’s parent company, Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH). Optum is the payvider services and consulting arm of UnitedHealth Group. Cianfrocco took […]

Hazelden Betty Ford Unveils Data-Driven Approach to Integrated Addiction and Mental Health Care

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 […]

Mental Health Outshines Autism Therapy and SUD Treatment Services as Top Investment Target in 2025

Behavioral health executives are thinking big about artificial intelligence in 2025. Leaders in the industry are also bullish on service line expansion, particularly in and around mental health care over other sub-sectors. Those are some major takeaways from Behavioral Health Business’ recently released 2025 Industry Outlook survey. BHB covered additional insights from the survey earlier […]

Rising Cannabis Use Disorder Cases Prompt Treatment Providers to Expand Services

This is an exclusive BHB+ story Experts warn that rates of cannabis use disorder (CUD) are increasing due to more favorable perceptions of the drug and higher concentrations. Providers already treating substance use disorders (SUDs) have the tools to treat CUD – a move that could increase care access and strengthen revenue streams. However, better […]

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 […]

Digital Addiction Market Primed for Consolidation in 2025

M&A in the substance use disorder (SUD) treatment space has been slow over the last few years. However, that could change as a new “business-friendly” presidential administration takes over and interest rates soften. And some industry insiders speculate that digital could be the place to look for M&A activity in 2025. “I imagine we will […]

Cigna’s David Cordani, Business Leaders and Lawmakers Zoom In on Mental Health Care

Mental health has firmly become an issue that some of the most powerful business leaders and politicians actually want to talk about. The subject was in the spotlight last Tuesday when the Business Roundtable and managed care insurer The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) convened a “Mental Health Summit” in Washington, D.C., that featured two U.S. […]

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 […]