Those requirements include in-person drug screenings at labs, group therapies and visits to doctors, all tough asks when you’re supposed to be sheltering at home. Tookes works with opioid addicts, and has been lobbying Florida’s Agency for Health Care Administration to lift strict requirements for getting refills of medication used to treat their illness. Hansel Tookes, of the University of Miami’s Miller School of Medicine division of infectious diseases. Medicaid has also become a concern for Dr. We’re just trying to make sure the system is intact.” Insurance concernsĮven if DCF keeps payments flowing, many clinics that treat substance abuse will still suffer because private insurance companies and Medicaid will not reimburse them if they’re not seeing patients, he said. “For the most part, it’s hobbling along,” said Thriving Mind CEO John Newcomer, adding: “We may well see an uptick in the need for services as we move on. Thriving Mind said it is working with the Florida Department of Children and Families to try to keep payments to providers flowing, to ensure rehab professionals don’t lose their jobs and patients are still getting help. The organization contracts with about 40 providers, clinics big and small, rehab centers and companies that provide in-home treatment.
Thriving Mind, which was formerly known as the South Florida Behavioral Health Network, manages state funding that each year helps about 50,000 people dealing with mental illness or substance abuse, or both. Clinics, rehab centers and individual therapists get paid through a patchwork of public money, private health insurance companies and families paying out of their own pockets. In South Florida, there is no uniform way for drug and alcohol abusers to get treatment. Because there’s been a steep drop-off in patient visits, clinics are bracing for private insurance and federal government reimbursements to vanish, forcing layoffs of counselors and staff.ĭoctors fear Medicaid patients will run out of their supplies of drugs such as suboxone, which is used to treat opioid addiction, because of strict state requirements that they get drug tested and visit doctors in person. Substance-abuse therapists have traded in couches for platforms such as Skype or Facetime as some South Florida residential rehab centers have stopped accepting new patients for fear they might infect existing clients. Getting clean is challenging enough in regular times, and the coronavirus has also upended South Florida’s fragile care system for people battling alcohol and substance abuse, putting many more at risk of relapsing and overdosing. Virtual 12-step meetings are attracting thousands of new users, many stuck in isolation, without work, resisting the temptation to use.
#SEX ADDICTS ANONYMOUS MEETINGS ARE MESSED UP FREE#
But like many recovering addicts grappling with the sudden shutdown of society, Derrick has turned to meetings through teleconferencing services such as Zoom and In The Rooms, a free website that specializes in hosting recovery groups.
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