INSIGHTS AND PERSPECTIVES
Your Source For The Latest In Behavioral Health Compliance and Strategic Growth:
- Sariah Hopkins
Most JCAHO consultants sell generic healthcare accreditation and miss what actually breaks a behavioral health survey: 42 CFR Part 2, ASAM documentation, ligature risk, and state licensure sequencing. Here is how founders and COOs should vet a Joint Commission consultant, plus real pricing and timeline benchmarks.
- Brandi Cameron
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act rewrites Medicaid eligibility, work requirements, and cost-sharing rules starting in late 2026. Here is how SUD treatment operators should reprice contracts, retool eligibility workflows, and stress-test census against six-month redetermination cycles before mid-episode coverage loss shows up in AR.
- Leah Kendall
When a treatment center draws grant oversight, auditors look for a predictable pattern. Leah Kendall breaks down the six FWA red flags that trigger OIG and state auditor scrutiny, plus the internal controls behavioral health operators need before the post-award monitoring letter arrives.
- Sariah Hopkins
Pinnacle Treatment Centers' wind-down of Recovery Works in Kentucky, including the shuttered Georgetown facility, gives operators and acquirers a live case study in payer mix erosion, census volatility, and state reimbursement sufficiency. Sariah Hopkins breaks down the diligence and exit-readiness lessons.
- Sariah Hopkins
UnitedHealthcare delegates behavioral health credentialing to Optum through Provider Express. Sariah Hopkins walks operators through the 90 to 180 day facility timeline, NCQA's new 120-day PSV window, the parity argument when Optum closes a panel, and the sequencing that shortens time-to-first-dollar.
- Sariah Hopkins
Aware Recovery Care's eviction, contemplated Assignment for the Benefit of Creditors, and $850K wage settlement across an 11-state footprint offer a real-time case study in distress-stage operations, creditor mechanics, and M&A positioning for behavioral health operators and PE-backed buyers.
- Brandi Cameron
EBSA, CMS, and Treasury are pressing payers on MHPAEA parity for buprenorphine, methadone, and naltrexone. Behavioral health operators who audit NQTLs, prior authorization patterns, and denial data now can turn payer non-compliance into stronger contract terms before enforcement disrupts reimbursement.
- Sariah Hopkins
LifeStance Doubled EBITDA. Here’s What That Tells Operators About Payer Contracts and M&A Multiples.
LifeStance Health more than doubled Adjusted EBITDA on rate, volume, and productivity gains. For behavioral health operators weighing a payer renegotiation or a sale process, the public-company disclosures are a live benchmark. Here is how to use them.
- Christine Weeks
JCAHO accreditation is not federally required for most behavioral health facilities, but state licensure, commercial payer contracts, and SAMHSA rules for opioid treatment programs turn it into a functional mandate. Here is how operators should think through the decision.