Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | March 6, 2017 | Worcester Business Journal 13 H E A L T H C A R E F O C U S Opioids are a societal problem In Massachusetts, at least 1,465 people died of unintentional opioid overdoses in 2016, according to the state Department of Public Health's quarterly report released in February. State and regional business and government agencies have launched initiative to try and stem the wave of abuse hitting the state. When polled, Central Massachusetts business leaders said this is a crisis that impacts everyone. F L A S H P O L L "Small staff and lost someone last year to an overdose." COMMENTS: "Employers have a unique opportunity, through drug testing and mandated recovery programs, to help those suffering from addiction to get back on the right track." "Yes. It breaks my heart to say one of our employees is one of those poor 1,465 souls that lost the battle against opioid addiction." Has opioid abuse affected your business? No. We are insulated from those problems. 13% Yes. We've had employees who have struggled with addiction. 30% Yes. It is a public health issue impacting the region's economy and social fabric. 49% 8% No. Drug abuse is a long- standing issue and the response to opioids is an overreaction. Healthcare providers at TaraVista treat patients covered by Medicare and Medicaid, a relative scarcity for those seeking addiction treatment. ments for the same services, and peo- ple who have Medicaid (MassHealth) must seek treatment from BSAS- licensed providers. People who struggle with opioid addiction are more likely to have MassHealth as their primary insurance than anything else – with 42 percent using Medicaid vs. 26 percent using commercial insurance and 24 percent using Medicare, according to a 2014 report from the Massachusetts Health Policy Commission. Kurt Isaacson, president and CEO of Worcester addiction treatment compa- ny Spectrum Health Systems, said the daily Medicaid rate for residential addiction treatment is $108.08 per day, an amount, Isaacson noted, wouldn't cover the cost of a hotel room and meals for the average person for one day, let alone the clinical costs associ- ated with treatment. "You have to design programs that are available to private-pay and insured clientele," Isaacson said. Spectrum does that at its New England Recovery Center in Westborough. The detox center accepts private-pay and commercially-insured patients only, and it helps balance the operations of the Charles J. Faris Recovery Center, a longer-term resi- dential facility in Westborough that accepts Medicaid and commercially- insured patients. Both opened in 2015. Isaacson said access issues for Medicaid patients will persist if rates don't change, but the quality of services is the same, whether a facility accepts Medicaid patients or not. "There are some amenities, for example, you'd receive concierge-type services you'd receive at [private-pay facilities] but the programming and the staffing are similar," Isaacson said. Outpatient profitability Just as important as inpatient capaci- ty in treating opioid addiction is the availability of robust outpatient servic- es, according to Isaacson and Krupa. Spectrum, which has services beyond Central Massachusetts, has opened four outpatient facilities in the last three-and- a-half years. The newest in Central Deadliest communities Three-year 2013 2014 2015 total These Central Massachusetts towns reported the most opioid-related overdose deaths in 2015. Worcester 43 56 76 175 Fitchburg 6 14 18 38 Framingham 3 11 12 26 Leominster 6 9 6 21 Marlborough 2 8 8 18 Gardner 4 4 6 14 Spencer 1 3 8 12 Clinton 2 4 6 12 Franklin 2 4 6 12 Southbridge 2 3 6 11 Total Mass. 918 1,321 1,597 3,836 Source: Mass. Dept. of Public Health, Jan. 2017 Note: Additional cases for 2014 and 2015 are still being confirmed Continued on Page 15 P H O T O / N A T H A N F I S K E

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