JDS Consulting, Inc.

From article: "Before Dr. Herbert Kleber's pioneering addiction research, substance abuse treatment was mostly ineffective. Now, he's getting his Google Doodle due. Tuesday's Google Doodle honors the psychiatrist who reshaped modern addiction treatment in the US on the 23rd anniversary of his election to the National Academy of Medicine. "

From the ASAM website: "ASAM has released for member and public comment the draft of its latest clinical practice guideline on alcohol withdrawal management."

Quote from the article: A judge in Oklahoma on Monday ruled that Johnson & Johnson had intentionally played down the dangers and oversold the benefits of opioids, and ordered it to pay the state $572 million in the first trial of a drug manufacturer for the destruction wrought by prescription painkillers.

From the article: "The loss ratios for short-term health planswhich aren't subject to the ACA's medical loss ratio requirementswere significantly below that threshold. According to the report, the average loss ratio of the top five short-term plan insurers by total premiums was 39.2% in 2018. Put another way, Modern Healthcare reports, the insurers spent 39 cents of every $1 collected in premiums on medical care. " Broken down by the top five short-term plan insurers by tot...al premiums in 2018, the data show: UnitedHealthcare spent about 37 cents of every $1 collected in premiums on patients' medical care; National General Insurance spent about 58 cents of $1 collected on medical care; Geneve Holdings spent about 36 cents of every $1 collected in premiums on medical care; Blue Cross of Idaho spent about 55 cents of every $1 collected in premiums on medical care; Cambia Health Solutions, which operates Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in four states [JDS note: They serve WA, OR, UT, ID and have a partnership with BCBS of NC] , spent 9 cents for every $1 collected on medical care.

From the article - "federal legislation intended to expand access to treatment for OUDthe Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000has discouraged buprenorphine prescribing because it requires health care providers to get additional training and receive permission from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), known as the X-waiver, before they can prescribe the drug in outpatient settings. And these requirements exacerbate other barriers." "A DEA license only allows prescribers in a primary care setting to treat up to 30 patients in the first year. When you consider the prevalence of this disease, this cap keeps people from accessing lifesaving care."

From the article: "The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services this week recommended creating new bundled episodes of care for treatment of opioid use disorders and adding three CPT codes for care management and counseling that could include connected health services. The proposal includes a bundled payment program for Medication Assisted Treatment (MAT) therapy, which can also incorporate digital health for care coordination."

From article: Within the broader opioid epidemic, justice-involved populations are disproportionately affected by opioid use disorder. JCOIN will help develop effective intervention and treatment strategies for this crucial setting, said NIDA Director Nora D. Volkow, M.D. It is vitally important to provide evidence-based approaches for people leaving criminal justice facilities in order to prevent relapse and opioid overdose which often occurs as they transition back into their communities.

Quote from article: "The U.S. departments of Health and Human Services, Labor and the Treasury issued a final rule allowing employers of all sizes that do not offer a group coverage plan to fund a new kind of health reimbursement arrangement (HRA), known as an individual coverage HRA (ICHRA). Starting Jan. 1, 2020, employees will be able to use employer-funded ICHRAs to buy individual-market insurance, including insurance purchased on the public exchanges formed under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL

FAIR Health White Paper - Spotlight on National Behavioral Health Trends: A 10-Year Window into Key Mental Health and Substance Abuse Indicators Quote from the white paper: "In the past decade, there has been widespread concern about evidence of a nationwide increase in behavioral health disorders, including both mental health and substance use disorders. At the same time, access to behavioral healthcare may have been increased by the passage of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Do...menici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (Mental Health Parity Act). To shed light on behavioral health trends and patterns in this period, FAIR Health analyzed 2007-2017 data in our database of over 28 billion private healthcare claim records." JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL

Quote from this study's abstract: "People receiving tramadol alone after surgery had similar to somewhat higher risks of prolonged opioid use compared with those receiving other short acting opioids. Federal governing bodies should consider reclassifying tramadol, and providers should use as much caution when prescribing tramadol in the setting of acute pain as for other short acting opioids." JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL

"The AMA Opioid Task Force issued new recommendations to urge policymakers to protect patients’ access to evidence-based treatment, remove barriers to comprehensive pain care. The AMA Opioid Task Force is comprised of the American Medical Association, American Osteopathic Association, and 25 specialty and state medical societies . . . . The 2019 recommendations are focused on tangible actions policymakers can take to help end the epidemic. " You can read the pdf of the recomm...endations in a link found at the top of the article. JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL

"Anthem said it will buy Beacon Health Options, adding a national network of behavioral health services . . . Beacon manages mental health, substance abuse and other behavioral health services to more than 36 million people across the U.S., including nearly 3 million individuals under comprehensive risk-based behavioral programs. Anthem, which owns Blue Cross and Blue Shield plans in 14 states, already has more than 40 million members in its health plans." JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL

Quote from the article: "You’re at an event called Pride for a reason! You’re there to celebrate every piece of you . . . whether that’s your gender or sexual orientation, your relationship with mental health, or your struggles with addiction . . . . We are resilient, we are fun, we have fabulous lives, and we can thrive . . ." JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL

"Lawmakers are ramping up regulations on the marketing of substance use disorder treatment programs with recently passed legislation such as the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act. New laws on the books are aimed at cracking down on patient brokering, fraud and improper referrals, but even the lawmakers who wrote the bills admit some of them were written in haste, opening the door for unintendedand severeconsequences." JDS Social Media Disclaimer: http://bit.ly/2LXfdOL