Huge Massachusetts Addiction Funding Fight Erupts

Addiction Treatment Industry Newswire

11/27/2014 -ATIN – A massive battle is erupting in Massachusetts, according to published reports, over the proper reimbursement rates and levels of services at addiction treatment providers in the state, which in effect has made a sad joke out of the heightened hopes that at least things were moving in the right direction when in late summer Gov. Patrick Deval signed a bill in effect mandating that those who needed detox services would get those services followed up by a two week period of inpatient… making sure that all Massachusetts addicts had some fighting chance and a leg up after walking out of a Massachusetts addiction treatment center.

Relying on Flawed Data?

According to published reports, treatment providers at a hearing Tuesday said reimbursement rates were “completely inadequate” that relied on “capricious” rate setting by the state agency, the Center for Health Information and Analysis. A coalition of providers has sued Governor Patrick Deval’s administration. At a time when the governor has called the addiction problem in Massachusetts “a major state crisis” a failure to make the proper reimbursement adjustments prompted one prominent specialty treatment provider exec to say that what might result is the complete destruction of community-based specialty addition treatment in the state, ironically forcing clients into more expensive hospital settings, according published reports.

A Nearly 50 Percent Shortfall

Providers are saying that needed daily treatment rates are at least $120 a day, while the Center for Health Information and Analysis is estimating a daily rate of closer to $80, a huge nearly 50 percent differential. What we have developing here in Massachusetts is a MASSIVE disappointment for the addiction treatment industry… as a state where we thought addiction treatment was going to be a big priority with growth of access for the those who didn’t have a lot access – ie: the bottom 50 percent. Instead, where the rubber meets the road, that is to say money, a progressive state has turned into a huge disappointment with a big battle over $32 million, the figure according to published reports, in addiction funding the cause

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