Rigid rules at methadone clinics are jeopardizing patients’ path to recovery from opioid addiction Lev Facher By Lev Facher

Rigid rules at methadone clinics are jeopardizing patients’ path to recovery from opioid addiction Lev Facher By Lev Facher https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/12/methadone-clinics-rigid-rules-opioid-addiction-recovery/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=298769880&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-9Sm9b9cGH3My7CtAbk6SEtO5gYkyss54eV7mv30iNDPfmYkAh46WA-wWp3rCev6nJDqlCKIpR2fVFwrSqCKgCNuBwDSA&utm_content=298769880&utm_source=hs_email In Part 1 and 2 of his War on Recovery investigation, Lev Facher has been telling us about the myths and stigma surrounding methadone and buprenorphine, two highly effective medications that curb opioid cravings and withdrawal and dramatically reduce the risk of a fatal overdose. Today he reports on the handful of little-known financial institutions that now hold an ownership stake in 562 methadone clinics across the country. Private equity ownership has cropped up in nearly one-third of U.S. methadone clinics in recent years, creating outsized control of the U.S. addiction treatment industry while the opioid epidemic has grown into a public health crisis. “We have the physicians of America on our side, and they have the MBAs of America on their side,” said Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) in response to STAT's findings. A critic of methadone clinics, Markey is co-author of a bipartisan bill that would allow trained addiction doctors to prescribe methadone directly to patients with opioid addiction. “They don’t want to surrender the profits that come from having a monopoly.” There is no evidence that for-profit clinics offer lower-quality care, but the shift toward private-equity-backed treatment raises questions about methadone clinics’ chief interests in the public policy debate — protecting profits or improving public health. The math is simple: When methadone clinics require patients to come in daily for their doses, the clinics typically make more money when patients also receive more services, like counseling, toxicology testing, and case management or care coordination services. Medicare, for instance, pays clinics $259.80 each week for a bundle that includes medication dispensing, counseling, and drug testing. But Medicare pays just $40.71 for a week’s worth of take-home medication. Read more. The clinics push back, citing safety. "I don’t think the dominant interest is just giving lots more take-homes to patients. There’s more to treatment than that," Mark Parrino, founder and president of the American Association for the Treatment of Opioid Dependence, a nationwide advocacy group representing methadone clinics, told Lev in a Q&A. Read more. Q&A: Mark Parrino says it’s time to ‘completely re-examine’ methadone treatment for opioid addiction Lev Facher By Lev FacherMarch 19, 2024 https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/19/methadone-clinics-aatod-mark-parrino/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=298769880&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_EIk6ZJz_mMHwbEf1hFvafkCF9PbC8vnfNH_mkvgZYF9LzqpseQEPoFca4EKL1M6TrxdDXH5h1SZPk4PogxMkNjgrT9Q&utm_content=298769880&utm_source=hs_email The methadone clinic monopoly: Opioid treatment chains backed by private equity are fighting calls for reform Lev Facher By Lev Facher https://www.statnews.com/2024/03/19/methadone-clinics-opioid-addiction-private-equity/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsmi=298769880&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--s5a9GeW7RRjf-3cIsVfUHSYqFoEsRFPVfftnDUAcXcc6icydyoCMcvrj4sAk7p873wOk0Gb-1eIxas2SoQeHKoM-ueQ&utm_content=298769880&utm_source=hs_email