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

Today, we’re breaking down:

• $55M+ in funding for peer support over the last ~18 months

• All your latest news headlines in under two minutes

Let’s dive in.

- Shân

P.S. Turns out (as usual) there’s an inside story to Done’s legal fiasco fraudulent $100M pill mill… read more here.  

Reading time: ~4 minutes.

On our radar

What we’re watching this week 

👭 Peer support is becoming a serious contender

Marigold Health just raised $11M for peer-based addiction support, marking the latest uptick in demand and investor interest.

It’s been a great ~18 months for peer support models in behavioral health.

Not only do they help to address the massive shortage of healthcare workers, they’ve also been well-received by patients.

And now investors are really climbing in, with $55M+ going toward peer-support startups since February last year. 

Why now? Well, CMS rolled out a new code that defines the role of peers in Medicare, and federal health agencies also released new national model standards for peer support certification.

So, startups are delivering. 

The latest is an Uber-esque model by Marigold which finds peer specialists, hires them, and then embeds them with partner providers.

• But they’re only live in Delaware and New England, so if you’re looking to build a competitor in other markets (or niche specialties), now’s the time

Interest in becoming a peer specialist is also rising, although certification remains varied, and a possible challenge.

• Currently, most ~60-hour training certifications are state-specific

• Some states, like PA, now want to take a strict approach and prevent providers from offering any type of peer services unless they are contracted with a licensed peer organization

Caution is warranted, given the blurry line between peer support specialists and behavioral health coaches — who will likely come for a slice of the pie. 

• And, well, the health coaching space is basically unregulated, already attracting unqualified, predatory practitioners

But many in the behavioral health industry are concerned that too much regulation will essentially take the ‘peer’ out of peer support.

Lots to navigate, for providers and investors alike. We’ll keep you updated. 

Let’s get to your news headlines.

Catch up quick

This week’s top stories

Latest news

❤️ Sensory kits for patients with autism to use in emergency departments are now being offered by Dignity Health across Southern California.

😞 An ambitious federal study failed to curb opioid deaths using community interventions, but a changing drug supply (and a pandemic) were key factors. 

📲 Drug dealers are using Snapchat to sell fake fentanyl-laced pills to teens, fuelling an overdose crisis.

📉 Colorado’s weed market is coming down hard as sales plunge by $700M — and it’s making other states nervous.

🚨 The CEO and clinical president of telehealth startup Done, which prescribes Adderall online, have been arrested and charged with fraud.

💊 Related: The indictment may wreak havoc for Adderall users and possibly increase the risk of injuries and overdoses, the CDC warns.

✊ After years of wrongdoing and mistreatment of patients, the at-risk youth industry was blasted in a report by the US Senate Finance Committee.

👀 But, industry insiders have pushed back, claiming the report ‘failed to address the key drivers of abuse and created a public spectacle.’

🌿 Autism and female orgasmic disorder are now qualifying conditions for Connecticut’s medical cannabis program.

🍄 With FDA approval of MDMA therapy in question, Mindbloom has launched a ketamine therapy program for people with PTSD.

⚠️ Dentists are being nailed for fraud, and lawyers warn there’s been a ‘huge uptick in claims for autism-related services similar to the dentist cases.’ 

👀 Strong advocates both for and against telehealth-only prescribing continue to emerge as the DEA prepares to release its final post-COVID rule.

🎮 Akili announced the first FDA-approved video game available as an over-the-counter treatment for adults with ADHD.

🤔 AMA delegates have voted to decriminalize drug use and possession — an interesting move amid a slew of failed decriminalization experiments. 

💡 ‘Stay interviews,’ reliable schedules, clear career paths, and payable training hours are a few of the tactics being used to retain BCBAs.

💰 The Biden-Harris administration announced another $31M+ in funding opportunities for priority behavioral health needs.

🧑‍💻 Ransomware attacks against health care organizations have surged after the Change hack that crippled much of the US healthcare system.

💸 US healthcare spending rose to $4.8T in 2023 — a growth of 7.5%, outpacing GDP.

💲 Plans to redo this year’s quality ratings of private Medicare plans will deliver hundreds of millions in additional bonus payments to insurers next year.

🍫 Mushroom chocolates and gummies which may contain undisclosed ingredients or illicit substances have been linked to severe illnesses.

🏥 EDs can be the ‘first, sometimes only’ interaction people with SUDs have with the health care system — and thus are emerging as a critical entry point. 

🎉 A 10% drop in opioid-related overdose deaths from 2022 to 2023 has been reported for Massachusetts, the largest single-year decline over 20 years.

🚬 Lawmakers are taking the FDA and DOJ to task over the continued sale of illegal vapes.

🧑‍⚖️ A judge has halted the ban on syringe programs as El Dorado County’s legal battle continues.

Expansions, launches, & partnerships

💻 In yet another move toward intermediate care, Brightside Health now offers virtual IOPs for SUD via its acquisition of Lionrock Recovery.

🤑 Youth education and behavioral health platform FullBloom acquired two Mesa, Arizona locations from Lexington Life Academy.

❤️ Verbal AUTISM has launched a new platform to help improve the communication abilities of nonspeaking people.

🏃 Talkspace and FitOn have teamed up to provide a holistic mental health and fitness solution to employers.

👷 Riverside University Health System has started construction on a new $580M behavioral health campus in Mead Valley. 

🎉 Summit BHC will open a new addiction recovery center in Las Cruces — it’s second facility in New Mexico and 38th overall. 

🧠 Headspace is expanding its reach to college students through a new exclusive higher-education partnership with Uwill.

🏥 A Denver community health center is merging with a mental health care provider for financial sustainability and improved access to comprehensive care.

🏗️ Warfel has broken ground on a $36M Pennsylvania behavioral health build that will introduce 96 new patient beds.

🏛️ Connections Health Solutions opened a new 16-bed crisis treatment center in Chantilly, Virginia (the first of several set to open this year).

🎲 PrizePicks and Kindbridge Behavioral Health have collaborated to support problem gaming prevention, treatment, and recovery efforts.

🎮 DeepWell Digital Therapeutics has launched Zengence, its first action video game for mental health support (zen... get it?).

Funding rounds & investor moves

🤑 Talkiatry secured $130M to mainstream value-based behavioral health care.

👀 PE-backed Pathways Health and Community Support has rebranded to Clarvida as it sets up to triple the number of people it serves by 2030.

🎁 Ohio’s Nationwide Children's Hospital received $25M for mental and behavioral health research.

🧱 Once sidelined as a digital-only contender, venture capital is becoming a more mature player in the behavioral health arena, says BHB. 

🗣️ Canary Speech, maker of vocal biomarker tech that detects patients’ mood and stress levels before clinical screening, scored a $13M Series A. 

💡 The importance of recasting financials and sequential presentations for maximizing value in a behavioral health sale.

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Studies & opinion pieces

💔 Very few Medicare enrollees who survive drug overdoses receive the gold standard for addiction treatment afterward (study).

🪖 Soldiers’ suicide risk is nine times greater than death from enemy fire (study). 

📲 Why the surgeon general is calling for a warning label on social media platforms (opinion). 

🍄 Humans will be included in a psilocybin study by UC Berkeley, marking the first experiments on humans with a Schedule I substance by the university. 

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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