Emergency Rule Facilitates Medication-Assisted Treatment in Florida

Effective immediately, Florida’s Department of Children and Families promulgated an emergency rule with the hope of facilitating Medication-Assisted Treatment for those suffering from opioid use disorders. The crisis in Florida has been devastating. Deaths and overdoses due to opioid use in the state has increased by 37% percent over the past three years.

The emergency rule facilitates Medication-Assisted Treatment by modifying the clinical and operational standards that would otherwise apply; specifically, the emergency rule:Continue reading

EKRA Affects Marketing Relationships with Labs and Addiction Treatment Businesses

By: Jeff Cohen

For those following the federal legislative developments on the issue of compensating marketing people who market the services of labs and addiction treatment facilities there is a new update to take note of. Congress passed on October 24, 2018 the “Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act.”  Yes, that’s a real name!  Part of the law is the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act of 2018 (“EKRA”).

The core aspect of EKRA has to do with how to properly compensate marketing personnel who market the services of labs, addiction treatment facilities and recovery homes.   For those of you already familiar with existing federal law pertaining to compensation arrangements (e.g. the bona fide employee exception (the “BFE”) and the personal services arrangement and management contract safe harbor (the “PSA”)), the EKRA provisions will look familiar!  Key aspects of this law (which has to be read together with similar existing laws) include—Continue reading

Big Rule Changes Proposed for DCF Licensed Substance Abuse Treatment Centers

substance abuse licensingBy: Jacqueline Bain

On December 29, 2017, the Department of Children and Families (DCF) submitted comments for proposed changed to rule 65D-30, governing licensed substance abuse service providers. The proposed rule includes significant changes as compared to old 65D-30, and should be reviewed as soon as possible by all DCF-licensed substance abuse service providers.  Comments must be received by DCF on or before January 19, 2018, and can be submitted via the form at the bottom of THIS LINK .The proposed changes are substantial, and we strongly recommend someone in each licensed service provider reviews them as soon as possible in order to ensure timely compliance.

This article will focus on changes in the licensing component of DCF’s rules.Continue reading

The Federal Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit: An Enforcement Initiative Lacking in Resources for Prevention and Treatment of Opioid Abuse

By: Jacqueline Bain

Earlier this month, Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced the formation of the Opioid Fraud and Abuse Detection Unit, which is a pilot program of the United Stated Department of Justice. AG Sessions noted that there are three components to approach the opioid crisis that our nation faces: prevention, treatment and enforcement.

  1. Prevention. AG Sessions noted briefly that the DOJ is undertaking that component through raising awareness, through drug take-back programs, and through DEA’s 360 Strategy program, which incorporates law enforcement, diversion control and community outreach to tackle the cycle of violence and addiction in US cities. He also stated that law enforcement is a component of prevention.
  2. Treatment. AG Sessions articulated that treatment can help break the cycle of addiction and crime and help people get their lives back together.
  3. Enforcement. AG Sessions dove deep in the area of enforcement, reasoning that enforcing our laws helps keep drugs out of the hands of our citizens, decreases their availability, drives up their price, and reduces their purity and addictiveness. He added, “Enforcement will make a difference in turning the tide in this epidemic.”

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ASAM & Cigna to Collaborate on Performance Measures in Addiction Treatment

Recruitment and Retention Agreements

cigna asamBy: Karina Gonzalez

ASAM and announced a collaborative effort with  Brandeis University to test and validate three ASAM performance measures for addictions treatment. ASAM hopes that this project will provide measure testing of performance measures that will be accepted and adopted in the treatment of patients with addiction.

Three measures will be tested using two years of de-identified Cigna claims data  for  substance abuse.  The measures to be  tested in the study will be: use of pharmacotherapy for individuals with alcohol use disorders; pharmacotherapy for individuals with opioid use disorders and follow-up after withdrawal.  This is expected to be a six month project.Continue reading