People with mental health symptoms from low to middle-income households use mental healthcare less after aging into Medicare, according to a new study.
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Southern California's Schaeffer Center sought to address growing concern about access to mental healthcare services under...
This week, the American Medical Association (AMA) published its annual Substance Use and Pain Care Task Force Overdose Epidemic Report.
The report covers the overdose epidemic, harm reduction efforts, naloxone access and mortality statistics. It also investigates industry response to the issues surrounding the epidemic and promotes...
The Task Force on Maternal Mental Health that was ordered by the Biden-Harris Administration last September has issued a national strategy to improve maternal mental healthcare and submitted a report to Congress on their policy recommendations.
The National Strategy is not limited to recommendations for the U.S. Department of Health...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) published the results of the 2022 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) this week. The survey is prepared annually and tracks drug use and behavioral health in the U.S., including among adolescents ages 12...
As the state crackdown on fraudulent Medicaid-funded substance abuse recovery homes across Arizona continues, stories of patients impacted by the programs are emerging.
The facilities would operate under generic names like "Healing Fountain," "Happy Valley," or "Angelic Behavioral Health," and registered with the state as counseling...Arizona News
On Monday August 21, 2023, National Fentanyl Awareness Day, Arizona's Governor Katie Hobbs and Senator Kyrsten Sinema made statements acknowledging the national opioid crisis and highlighting state and federal initiatives to curb overdose and deaths.
As Sen. Sinema notes in her press release, in Arizona more than five people die each...
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced that it would award $88 million for efforts to improve access to youth mental health services and provide treatment for substance use disorders (SUDs).
According to the HHS Press Release, several Arizona entities will receive funding through the Substance Abuse and...
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) CY 2024 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Outpatient Prospective Payment System (OPPS) proposed rules released this week have caught major criticism from the industry for cuts to physician pay and inadequate raises for hospitals. But the OPPS proposal also contains a number of...Arizona News
Indigenous community leaders in Arizona are asking for changes in drug and alcohol rehabilitation center regulations following complaints of scammers and human trafficking.
The issue was brought to the attention of the Arizona State Legislature during a hearing by the Ad Hoc Committee for Missing and Murdered Indigenous peoples last...
On Monday, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a proposed rule that includes revisions to network adequacy standards for Marketplace plans and paths to transitioning Medicaid members to the Marketplace. The proposed rule adds behavioral healthcare, including substance use disorder facilities and providers, to the...
The proposed changes to the Confidentiality of Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Patient Records Part 2 would revise privacy rules to align with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) - the change is designed to improve care coordination for patients and reduce discrimination in treatment.
Currently, the Part 2...CMS Rules
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the Calendar Year (CY) 2023 Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) final rule that reduces payments by almost 4.5% YOY and includes substantive changes for ACOs in the Medicare Shared Savings Program, expands access to behavioral health services, and decreases the conversion factor...
The fight for health equity in maternal health continues with the Biden administration announcing plans to reform substance abuse treatment for expecting mothers. Meanwhile, maternal care options are shrinking for women in rural and underserved communities, increasing their risk for poor maternal and infant health outcomes.
Roughly...
As drug overdose deaths continue to rise, leaders from the American Medical Association (AMA) and Manatt Health released a new toolkit this week focused on strategies for ending the nation’s drug overdose epidemic. Arizona lawmakers had a few mentions in the report for successful legislative efforts to combat the opioid...Arizona News
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona's Mobilize AZ initiative announced grant awards to seven Arizona community organizations providing programs and services focused on substance use disorder.
Grants are awarded for projects addressing substance use disorder and at least one of three complicating factors:
COVID-19
Social...Arizona News
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is awarding up to $500,000 in grants to assist organizations fighting the opioid epidemic and substance use disorder by increasing access to life-saving services.
Arizona nonprofit organizations, academic institutions, and government entities that are seeking resources to further their work related...National News
A new analysis from the Association for Community Affiliated Plans (ACAP) focuses on new models implemented by safety-net plans and the best way high-quality coordinated care can be provided for individuals with substance abuse disorder (SUD).
Successfully managing the needs of people with SUD requires a high-level of comprehensive...
