JDS Consulting, Inc.

09/24/2022

10/15/2019

From the article: "Having a parent battling addiction can be one of the most isolating and stressful situations young children and their families face,” Sherrie Westin, president of social impact and philanthropy at Sesame Workshop, said Wednesday in a statement. “ ‘Sesame Street’ has always been a source of comfort to children during the toughest of times, and our new resources are designed to break down the stigma of parental addiction and help families build hope for the future.”

The online-only videos addressing substance abuse were greeted overwhelmingly with praise but also received some criticism.

10/02/2019

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. "

Before Dr. Herbert Kleber's pioneering addiction research, substance abuse treatment was mostly ineffective. Now, he's getting his Google Doodle due.

09/26/2019

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

ASAM has released for member and public comment the draft of its latest clinical practice guideline on alcohol withdrawal management. Please see below for more information and instructions to review:

08/27/2019

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.

Oklahoma pursued the first case against a drug manufacturer for the national public health disaster, and the ruling may point to what lies ahead in 2,000 more lawsuits.

08/14/2019

From the article: "The loss ratios for short-term health plans—which aren't subject to the ACA's medical loss ratio requirements—were 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 total 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.

The top five short-term health plan insurers in 2018 spent only about 39% of premium dollars on medical care, well below the Affordable Care Act's medical loss ratio threshold, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners' (NAIC) 2018 Accident and Health Policy Report published l...

08/01/2019

From the article - "federal legislation intended to expand access to treatment for OUD—the Drug Addiction Treatment Act of 2000—has 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."

More than 2 million Americans struggle with opioid use disorder (OUD), a chronic relapsing medical condition, but access to medication-assisted treatment remains limited. Buprenorphine helps alleviate painful symptoms associated with the disorder. But few clinicians prescribe the drug.

07/30/2019

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."

CMS is proposing adding CPT codes and new bundled episodes of care to help care providers using telehealth to treat people dealing with opioid use disorder.

07/29/2019

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.”

Ten clinical research centers will address gaps in accessing high-quality care.

06/14/2019

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).

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The individual coverage HRA (health reimbursement account) is a new kind of HRA created to give employers without a group coverage plan a way to help workers purchase health insurance on the exchange.

06/13/2019

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 Domenici 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

06/11/2019

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."

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