Recently the law was struck down by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. However, the federal appeals court ruled on Monday that the court lacked the authority to strike down the annual requirement imposed on the companies to pay $100 million collectively. Companies will contribute toward the tax according to their share of the market. Read more here.

Suspected opioid overdose deaths are surging during the COVID-19 pandemic, increasing by more than 40 percent in May and continuing to rise. Medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD)-specifically methadone and buprenorphine-cut mortality in half; however, only a minority of the two million people living with opioid use disorder (OUD) in the US receive MOUD. After the Affordable Care Act was implemented, treatment engagement expanded modestly. Yet, racial, income, and geographic inequities persist. Approximately 40 percent of counties do not have a buprenorphine prescriber, and Black patients are significantly less likely to have access to a buprenorphine provider compared to White patients. The economic, social, psychiatric, and emotional havoc of the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated an already worsening opioid crisis and highlighted the need for lower threshold access to evidence-based, life-saving OUD treatment. Moreover, the pandemic has disrupted traditional health care delivery methods, further limiting access to buprenorphine through established care settings.

Recognizing the dire consequences of worsening access to buprenorphine treatment, the federal government took unprecedented and swift action to permit initiation of buprenorphine through video telemedicine visits. Read more here.

Additional article of interest: Substance use disorders linked to COVID-19 susceptibility

In mid-May, a report titled "Reducing Barriers To Furnishing Substance Use Disorder (SUD) Services Using Telehealth And Remote Patient Monitoring For Pediatric Populations Under Medicaid" was provided to Congress by the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, acting through the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). 

This guidance includes an assessment of key lessons learned from early state and federal experiences in implementing value-based care reforms, as well as a comprehensive toolkit of available federal authorities for states to adopt innovative payment reform efforts within their individual programs. It stresses the importance of multi-payer alignment in value-based care to drive care transformation, and supports state efforts to align new payment models in Medicaid with Medicare and other private payers. Read more here.

Additional articles of interest: To Design Equitable Value-Based Payment Systems, We Must Adjust For Social Risk