March 11, 2024
Opioid/Substance Use Disorders | Tea Leaves
  • The behavioral health funding landscape is ever-changing as America grapples with increasing demands for mental health and substance use disorder services. In her latest blog, Mindy Klowden, Third Horizon Strategies Managing Director for Behavioral Health, discusses some of the important trends and policy issues related to funding streams to meet the behavioral health needs of communities. “This year, there are simultaneously new tools to address these challenges and new reasons to be concerned about the strength of the community safety net for people with behavioral health disorders,” Mindy states. In her piece, Mindy examines four specific sources of funding – the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), opioid abatement dollars, the SUPPORT Act, and the expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) and the prospective payment system – and outlines the key issues associated with each. (Blog post here)
  • Viaduct Consulting, LLC, in collaboration with Third Horizon Strategies, released the third of three reports outlining recommendations for Medicaid coverage of Opioid Use Disorder (OUD) services in jails and prisons. The report, Recommendations for Medicaid Payment Models for Opioid Use Disorder Services in Jails and Prisons, recommends payment approaches that states and the federal government can use to advance Medicaid-covered OUD services in prisons and jails.  It also identifies operational considerations in implementing Medicaid-covered OUD services in prisons and jails. (View the report here)