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Welcome to The Census, your weekly roundup of what matters in behavioral healthcare.

Today, we’re breaking down:

• A new AI behavioral health coach built by Sam Altman

• All your latest news headlines in under two minutes

Let’s dive in.

- Shân

Reading time: ~3.5 minutes.

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On our radar

What we’re watching this week 

🤖 Industry heavyweights launch Thrive AI Health

They aim to put an AI behavioral health coach in the pocket of everyone who wants one (and everyone who doesn’t).

Sam Altman (yes, that dude) and Arianna Huffington (CEO of Thrive Health) penned a passionate piece for TIME on Sunday about the launch of their new startup, Thrive AI Health. 

Here’s a little snippet:

Ballsy. Many would swap out their use of “hard” for “ridiculously difficult,” especially using tech as the only medium.

Their goal is to democratize (and again, we quote) the “miracle drug” of behavior change through AI. 

One thing is certain: we can no longer gloss over the coaching industry’s plunge into behavioral health care. 

On the plus side, Thrive will train AI behavioral health coaches using “the best peer-reviewed science,” which may help to address some of the coaching industry’s red flags (namely, sh*t advice).

However…

• Science itself can be biased, and AI exacerbates this bias

• A firm of Thrive’s scale is unlikely to be challenged by a significant competitor, and we all know the dangers of monopolies in AI and healthcare

🐘 And the elephant in the room: that infamous chaotic curious OpenAI saga surrounding Sam.

Hmmm. If driven by a genuine desire to do good (and an unshakable code of ethics), this could positively impact the industry — and support behavioral health providers in achieving patient outcomes. 

However, Thrive wants to sell the product to employers and pharmaceutical companies — not underserved populations (!). Here’s a take from a healthcare analyst we’d recommend reading. 

With that out of the way, let’s get to your news headlines.

Catch up quick

This week’s top stories

Latest news

📊 Among the ~10M US adults who needed OUD treatment in 2022, only a quarter received recommended medications.

🎉 Vermont has joined a small list of states expanding Medicaid coverage for for people transitioning out of prison (~65% of incarcerated people have an SUD, so this is huge). 

🏥 Troubled for-profit chains are stealthily operating dozens of psychiatric hospitals under nonprofits’ names, says STAT.

👀 A proposed rule requiring health care players to more quickly report cyberattacks is raising ire, with many saying it could hinder crisis response.

⚠️ Two Arizona addiction treatment centers have been charged with fraud, billing $150M+ in false claims between them.

💡 There will be ‘more uncertainty but more opportunities’ in behavioral health as the Chevron doctrine is scrapped, says BHB.

💊 Google indefinitely paused its policy update that would have allowed certain advertisers to discuss opioid painkillers without promoting them.

🤦 More than 75% of Tricare directories’ mental health provider listings are inaccurate, per a new report.

🩺 Johns Hopkins’ medical school will be free for most students thanks to a $1B donation from (still) billionaire Mike Bloomberg.

🧑‍⚕️ Physician burnout rates have dipped below 50% for the first time since the COVID-19 pandemic began.

🍆 Diagnoses of sexually transmitted diseases jumped nearly 24% among seniors ages 65 and older during the pandemic.

💻 The Colorado Behavioral Health Administration launched an online portal to improve the state’s mental health system via transparency and accountability.

🪖 Mental health disorders were the top reason that active-duty US military personnel were hospitalized in 2023.

💉 Many behavioral health providers are looking to long-acting injectables to help boost medication adherence and patient outcomes. 

📝 A Humboldt County report is calling for the stable funding of behavioral health programs.

🧠 Keystone Human Services has merged its autism services division with its mental health division as it streamlines operations.

🧬 The first gene therapy clinical trial to evaluate therapeutic impact in a genetic form of autism will enroll patients early next year.

👏 Oregon has expanded free Medicaid insurance to tens of thousands more people.

🚨 Purdue creditors are seeking approval to sue Sackler family members.

Expansions, launches, & partnerships

🏥 Akron Children’s Hospital will launch a pilot program to expand access to autism care.

🏛️ Caravel Autism Health opened a new center in Bettendorf, Iowa (its second in the area).

🤝 Ohio Behavioral Health Providers Network partnered with Alera Health to deliver whole-person care for people with behavioral health conditions. 

🏗️ Lakeside-Milam Recovery Center announced the completion of a special renovation project to tackle addiction within the construction industry.

Funding rounds & investor moves

🫄 Maternal health platform Pomelo Care raised $46M to increase payer partnerships (+ released data showing a 40% reduction in perinatal depression risk).

🧑‍🎓 Virtual mental health provider Uwill has acquired competitor Virtual Care Group, adding 100 additional colleges to its list of clients.

♀️ The HHS announced $27M+ in funding, available through two programs, to address women’s behavioral health needs. 

🏥 New York Governor Kathy Hochul announced ~$40M in state funding with nine hospitals to create emergency psychiatric departments.

Studies & opinion pieces

🍔 The eating disorder treatment market is correcting itself as providers who ‘were just here for a quick profit’ exit (opinion).

😮 Acupuncture can reduce methadone use by at least 20% (study).

🦠 Children with autism carry unique gut flora — a finding that may lead to a more objective diagnostic tool (study).

🤖 AI can enhance multidisciplinary care in the autism and IDD community (opinion).

💉 There are missed opportunities to initiate + maintain buprenorphine treatment in primary care settings (study).

💻 Virtual cognitive behavioral self-help interventions can effectively decrease eating disorder symptoms + illness-related burden in bulimia (study).

That’s it for this week! See you next Wednesday with the latest headlines.

- Shân

P.S. You can email me here if you want to share any feedback, or let me know about a business I should be featuring.

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