DEA Extends Telehealth Flexibilities 6 Months in a Win for Behavioral Health Advocates

The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) released a temporary rule extending COVID-era telehealth flexibilities from the end of the public health emergency (PHE) on May 11 to Nov. 11, 2023. The extension allows clinicians prescribing controlled substances over telehealth to continue to do so for another six months. Patients that initiate care on or before Nov. […]

Virtual Addiction Treatment Providers Go Brick-and-Mortar with DEA Changes Looming

The proposed telehealth-prescribing rules from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) could require digital addiction providers to fundamentally change their business model and limit patient access to virtual addiction treatment.  These new rules will likely hit patients with the least access to status quo treatment models the hardest, especially for access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT). “Roughly […]

Ophelia, CareSource, Gateway: Investing in Community Can ‘Start Moving the Needle’ on SUD Treatment

Community support often falls outside of the addiction treatment-managed care fee-for-service paradigm. Payers and providers alike know the importance of fostering community in addiction treatment, and it’s a key to effective treatment and long-term recovery. However, developing communities fall far beyond their typical scope of services. Regardless, innovations around managed and value-based care seek to […]

DEA Proposal Jeopardizes Digital Providers, Limits Access to Care, Behavioral Health Insiders Warn

The new telehealth restrictions proposed by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last week struck a sour chord with several industry stakeholders. Many industry insiders condemned the move as out of touch and even dangerous, jeopardizing telehealth models’ effectiveness in behavioral health. Still, the proposal is not set in stone, and parts of it could change […]

Ophelia’s Provocative Opioid Use Disorder Marketing Campaign Will Turn Heads. But Will It Work?

Ophelia Health launched an intentionally provocative medication-assisted treatment (MAT) marketing campaign. The tagline for the campaign is “Fu*ck Rehab.” The New York City-based startup intends to challenge “rehab” as the default option for opioid use disorder (OUD). Ophelia Health has raised $67 million, according to Crunchbase. It solely focuses on treating OUD with MAT via […]

Virtual MAT Sees Much Higher Retention Than Industry Averages, Companies Find

Recently, three virtual medication-assisted treatment (MAT) startups have released research findings that demonstrate telehealth has been key to retaining patients and improving care outcomes. The companies — Bicycle Health, Quit Genius and Ophelia Health — are burgeoning behavioral health tech companies that have secured major venture capital funding and have grown significantly during the federal […]

Uncertain Regulatory Environment Creating Real-World Impacts for Addiction Treatment

Uncertainty around several COVID-era regulations and unresolved legislative questions has precipitated real world-impacts on behavioral health operators, especially addiction treatment providers. Specific questions around telehealth and the prescribing of controlled substances threaten the burgeoning crop of digital behavioral health operators that have thrived during the loosened regulations. Further, lingering questions about access to care via […]

Virtual MAT Providers Hopeful that COVID-Era Flexibilities Will Continue — But Wary About Risks

Some leaders in the virtual medication-assisted treatment (MAT) space see the opportune regulatory environment of the moment continuing post-COVID. However, virtual MAT providers were disappointed in the past by a regulatory flub at the federal level that could have secured them key flexibilities, leaving them to at least think about what might happen if current […]