Thinking of opening a drug rehab center or sober living house?

Good news—your timing couldn’t be better. Now is a great time to get into this industry and start making a difference in your community!

Here are four key trends in the addiction treatment industry to consider in your behavioral health organization’s business plan. These trends will give your plan that extra boost it needs to impress lenders and investors with your business’ bright future.

Treatment Center Trend #1: Demand Is Sky High

Unfortunately, we currently have an unprecedented level of addiction in the United States.

Over 23 million Americans are suffering from Substance Use Disorder (SUD). The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) estimates that less than 11% of those suffering ever receive care for their condition.

There is a huge need for accessible, competent, and evidence-based addiction treatment services in this country, particularly in underserved communities. There are large portions of the country that have no inpatient addiction treatment services within a reasonable distance for patients. There are many niche populations within the recovery community—women with young children, LGBTQ people, patients with dual diagnoses, etc.—that struggle to find appropriate services.   

Whether you decide to specialize in a niche or not, it’s good sense to enter into a field with high demand—and you’ll be doing just that when you open your addiction treatment center.  

Treatment Center Trend #2: New Ruling Means Better Insurance Coverage for SUD

When congress passed the The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) in 2008, it closed the loopholes many insurance companies used to opt-out of reimbursing providers for mental health and addiction treatment services. Of course, it’s well-known that many insurance companies continue to discriminate against people who suffer from SUD and routinely fail to provide coverage for this unfairly stigmatized condition.

A recent federal court ruling in Northern California may help put an end to this unfair treatment.

The court ruled that United Behavioral Health (UBH) failed to consistently use the national evidence-based guidelines for outpatient and residential addiction treatment outlined by the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM). In other words, the health insurance company, like many others in this country, routinely ignored accepted national guidelines and denied coverage for treatment of SUD.

This case sets a powerful precedent and strong warning to health insurers throughout the country: pay for addiction treatment services or suffer the consequences.

And that’s great news for you; a successful insurance billing program is a critical part of opening an addiction treatment center.

Treatment Center Trend #3: There’s Very Little Red Tape in the Industry

For a health care specialty, the addiction treatment industry is remarkably unregulated at the federal level.

While it’s unfortunate that unscrupulous providers exploit these freedoms, for the rest of us, it means that the barriers to opening a fantastic treatment center are easily overcome with a little planning.

Still, even in the absence of regulations, you’ll want to provide the best treatment you can for your community. Be sure to:

• Hire staff with the appropriate credentials for your state

• Get your program accredited with CARF International and The Joint Commission

• Apply for a “Certificate of Need,” if applicable, in your state

Treatment Center Trend #4: New Cloud-Based Behavioral Health Management Software Makes Administration and Billing a Breeze

There’s more to running an addiction treatment center than just treating patients—a lot more.

You’ll be keeping track of property maintenance, bill pay, staff management, vendor information, insurance authorization, patient billing, admissions, alumni, outcome tracking, medical records, clinical notes, test results, vehicle maintenance, and referral partners. The list goes on.

Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t be. Managing a treatment center doesn’t have to be the administrative ordeal it used to be.

Cloud-based behavioral health management software like BehaveHealth makes it easy to keep track of all the details and puts every piece of data related to your operation at your fingertips. You can check on everything from the cleaning schedule at your sober house to the status of your latest insurance appeal no matter where you are or what device you’re using.

So, what are you waiting for?

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by the process and don’t know where to start, reach out for help. Consider hiring an addiction treatment business planning consultant to help you with the process.

Once you’re up and running, the staff at BehaveHealth will be happy to assist you with putting a smart system in place to cover all the administrative and billing details.