Sovereign Health, a leading national provider of behavioral health treatment services, has announced the seventh installment of the “Beyond NIMBY” series, a second series that addresses the strong community opposition to recovery-oriented housing and addiction treatment services for persons with substance use disorders in residential neighborhoods — often referred to as “not in my backyard.”
The seventh article of the series, “Beyond NIMBY: Insurance, stigma and other barriers affecting addiction treatment in California,” focuses on insurance, stigma and other treatment barriers that impact the delivery of mental health and substance use disorder treatment services in communities.
Dave Sheridan, executive director of The Sober Living Network and president of the National Alliance for Recovery Residences, also discusses the role that insurance plays in behavioral health treatment and ways to improve oversight over services provided to people with addiction in California in a Q&A, “Beyond NIMBY: Meeting minds to build accountability, affordability and accessibility to behavioral health services in California.”
Despite the expansion of insurance coverage for behavioral health conditions in the U.S., the majority of Californians with substance use disorders do not receive the treatment they need. Insurance issues, stigma and other treatment barriers can greatly impact the affordability and accessibility of mental health and substance use disorder services.
This latest installment examines the struggles of dealing with insurance from both a business’s and a patient’s perspective. Topics related to California’s spending on behavioral health care services and insurance coverage also will be discussed, including the issue of insurance in the delivery of substance use disorder treatment and alternatives for offering financial assistance to patients.
As a leading provider of behavioral health treatment, Sovereign Health cares about the issues related to residential treatment facilities and recovery residences, and the concerns of local residents about what goes on in their communities. Sovereign aims to educate the community to foster awareness and provide guidance on subjects that affect the future of mental health and addiction treatment.
The launch of Sovereign’s five-part groundbreaking, inaugural NIMBY series released in August sparked an outpouring of discussion by residents in Southern California and throughout the country as it shined a light on the most critical issues of the NIMBY movement.
To follow Sovereign’s Beyond NIMBY series, follow the story on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google+, Instagram and YouTube using the hashtags #NIMBY, #NotInMyBackyard, #SanClemente, #Crimes and #SovTalk.