PORTLAND, Ore. – To help combat the nation’s addiction crisis and opioid overdose epidemic, the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation and Regence are partnering to expand access to high-quality, evidence-based addiction treatment services for millions of individuals and families across four Western states.
Hazelden Betty Ford is the nation’s leading nonprofit addiction treatment provider, with 17 sites around the country, including a residential care site in Newberg, Ore., and outpatient clinics in Beaverton, Ore., and Bellevue, Wash. Regence, whose health plans serve more than 2.6 million members across Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Utah, is committed to a comprehensive and collaborative strategy to decrease the misuse of opioids.
Under the new partnership, Regence members in all four states now have in-network access to the treatment provided at Hazelden Betty Ford’s three locations in Oregon and Washington, as well as its 14 other sites across the U.S.
Regence and Hazelden Betty Ford both treat substance use disorder as part of an integrated behavioral health strategy. Regence emphasizes prevention, early identification, and rapid cost-effective treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. Hazelden Betty Ford’s standard residential and outpatient substance use treatment services include medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder and mental health services.
“We are committed to pursuing solutions through collaboration and partnerships with health care leaders like Regence so that together we can help more families overcome addiction and related mental health concerns,” said Pablo McCabe, LCSW, director of national and strategic accounts for the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation.
Regence’s partnership with Hazelden Betty Ford is another chapter in Regence’s broad-based approach to treating the opioid epidemic. The approach, which includes firm prescribing guidelines, sharing claims data with providers, managing people’s pain through non-opioid treatments, and community education, is translating into results. As of the end of 2018, Regence achieved a 39 percent decrease in opioid prescriptions since 2015. This exceeds a company goal of reducing prescriptions 25 percent across Regence’s four-state region by 2020.
In addition to addiction treatment, Hazelden Betty Ford offers specialized services for nurses, physicians, pilots, attorneys and other professionals, as well as specialty care and services for adolescents and young adults. Programs are also available for families faced with a loved one’s addiction, including the Children’s Program, which provides education and support for children of a parent with a substance use issue.
“We at Regence are focused on increasing access to care when 56 percent of U.S. adults with a behavioral health condition aren’t being treated,” said Dr. Jim Polo, Regence’s Behavioral Health Medical Director. “We are happy that our new partnership gives our members more access to high-quality, compassionate providers like Hazelden Betty Ford, whose innovative treatment services integrate medical and behavioral treatment with ongoing social support.”
About Regence
Regence serves more than 2.6 million members through Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Oregon, Regence BlueCross BlueShield of Utah, Regence BlueShield of Idaho, and Regence BlueShield (select counties in Washington). Each health plan is a nonprofit independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association. Regence is part of a family of companies dedicated to transforming health care by delivering innovative products and services that change the way consumers nationwide experience health care. For more information, please visit regence.com.
About the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation
The Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation is a force of healing and hope for individuals, families and communities affected by addiction to alcohol and other drugs. As the nation’s leading nonprofit provider of comprehensive inpatient and outpatient treatment for adults and youth, the Foundation has 17 locations nationwide and collaborates with an expansive network throughout health care. With a legacy that began in 1949 and includes the 1982 founding of the Betty Ford Center, the Foundation today also encompasses a graduate school of addiction studies, a publishing division, an addiction research center, recovery advocacy and thought leadership, professional and medical education programs, school-based prevention resources and a specialized program for children who grow up in families with addiction. Learn more at www.HazeldenBettyFord.org and on Twitter @hazldnbettyford.