Author: Staff

Brewer, Maine-based Northern Light Health is offering behavioral health providers and other healthcare professionals sign-on bonuses to address staffing shortages at its hospitals in the state, The Piscataquis Observer reported May 5.

More than half of the $1 billion in Medicare psychotherapy provided from March 2020 to February 2021 "did not comply with Medicare requirements," according to an HHS inspector general's report released May 4.

New legislation in Illinois would offer people with most commercial insurance to have one free mental health diagnosis each year, WAND reported May 4. 

Phoenix-based Integrated Medical Services has partnered with Scottsdale, Ariz.-based evolvedMD to implement behavioral health services at several of its locations. 

Bloomington, Minn.-based HealthPartners has been fined $150,000 by the state of Minnesota for violating mental health parity laws, the Star Tribune reported May 4. 

There are 26,500 employed psychiatrists nationwide, according to the most recent Bureau of Labor Statistics occupational employment statistics survey. (Note: BLS data does not include self-employed providers.) 

An Arkansas psychiatrist under investigation for Medicaid fraud is also accused of false imprisonment in a lawsuit, Fox affiliate KNWA reported May 4.

Kroger settled an opioid lawsuit with West Virginia for $68 million, bringing the state's total opioid litigation dollars to more than $1 billion, state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey said in a May 4 press conference.

Here are 15 addiction treatment updates Becker's has reported on since April 5:

The American Psychiatric Association Foundation's 2023 class of psychiatry fellows is its largest and most diverse class in history.