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Bluelighter
www.methadonesupport.org/Addicts.doc
(unfortunately, I could not locate the date this article was created)
Addicts' cure has fatal flaw
By Maureen Boyle, Enterprise staff writer
BROCKTON — Heroin addicts are lining up to pay hundreds of dollars a week to Massachusetts doctors who refuse to accept medical insurance for Suboxone, the FDA-approved drug that allows physicians to treat opioid abuse in the privacy of their offices.
Some doctors are charging desperate addicts up to $3,000 for initial visits — and hundreds more for office visits lasting just a few minutes — before handing over a prescription for Suboxone, parents and experts in the field said.
“There are doctors meeting people in parking lots, telling them, 'Go to the back door of my house,' ” said Colleen LaBelle, program manager at Boston Medical Center's opioid treatment program. “It is just abominable.” It is happening across the country.
The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment found 72 percent of patients were paying cash for treatment, with some doctors complaining it was too hard to get reimbursed by insurance companies. Buprenorphine is the active ingredient in Suboxone. “The doctors say it is not worth the fight,” said Timothy Lepak, president of the alliance.
Suboxone, approved by the FDA in 2002, is the first approved medication for opioid treatment in a doctor's office, and has been heralded by some as a wonder drug for people addicted to prescription painkillers and heroin. Those treated with Suboxone take one to two tablets of the medication daily to suppress withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings. The pills are placed under the tongue and dissolved.
Doctors can treat up to 100 Suboxone patients if they undergo an eight-hour course offered by medical societies, get a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and notify the government of their plans. That number was increased from 30 per medical practice — not physician — last December after complaints that there weren't enough slots to treat the growing need. About 150,000 people were treated with Suboxone in the country as of August 2005, according to the makers of Suboxone, and the numbers are growing.
“Parents will pay anything to get their children help,” said Joanne Peterson, founder of Learn to Cope, a support group for parents of opiate-addicted children. But with the growth — and hope the drug offers — comes the potential for greed, several said.
“There are a lot of shabby practices,” Punyamurtula Kishore, a doctor who specializes in drug treatment, said of some doctors. “They take calls and they take the ones with the cash.” He said some of the doctors are making up to a half-million dollars a year seeing patients who want Suboxone. “When you are desperate, you do anything and people are desperate for help,” said Kishore.
One Braintree mother said her 20-year-old son paid $300 for his first visit, $150 for the second and $75 each week to one doctor to get a Suboxone prescription, even though he had Blue Cross/Blue Shield medical insurance. And when the family questioned the doctor about the treatment, she said he got mad. “He said, 'If you don't want the service and you don't want the drug, you can go elsewhere,' ” she said. He wound up relapsing and his drug use escalated, she said. His parents recently found him in the bathroom, overdosing on heroin. “We spent $1,200 to do CPR on our son,” his mother said. “It was a very traumatic event.”
Lepak, who heads the The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment, said the cash-only policy by some doctors casts a good drug in a bad light. “It takes away the credibility of the treatment. It makes it seem like it is something shady,” Lepak said.
The doctors that do take insurance — and insist on counseling — often have long wait lists, parents say. There are also 15 clinics in the state, including one at Boston Medical Center, that provide Suboxone treatment. Another health center, The New Bedford Community Health Center, is expected to receive a grant to also provide Suboxone treatment. It was the only health center in this area to apply for the money.
Chantel Nouvellon, a Waltham psychiatrist who accepts three different forms of insurance for Suboxone treatment, said getting reimbursed can take a long time, depending on the insurance, and some doctors may not want to deal with the paperwork to get paid. “For some insurances, sometimes you don't get paid for a year,” Nouvellon, of Arlington, said. Christine D'Eramo, formerly of Abington, tried Suboxone and was able to stay clean for nearly a year before relapsing. “I don't think it is a miracle pill,” D'Eramo, who is now drug-free again, said. “If you already want to get clean, it can help you. If you don't want to get clean, you are going to use.”
LaBelle said at Boston Medical Center, where she works, older addicts who have been battling substance abuse for years appear to have the most success with Suboxone. “It is a great option. It doesn't work for everybody. It is a lot more effective for those who are really done. It is not a medication for someone who just wants to still get high.” She said some of the younger addicts may not be ready to get treatment yet. “It is their parents that are the ones that are dragging them in by the hair,” LaBelle said.
Maureen Boyle can be reached at [email protected].
Addicts' cure has fatal flaw
www.methadonesupport.org/Addicts.doc
A note from me: I believe this is a problem for a lot of suboxone patients. I've been having issues with this problem myself. Just recently I acquired insurance and my doctor initially accepted it and brought up no problems that could come up. Even with insurance, he wants me to pay 50% of the visit cost. I just found out through e-mail that his services were reimbursed but he still wants the 50% just in case there are future problems. I pay $100 and the insurance paid him $300 on top of the $50 I paid him.
I am currently looking for a new doctor. I've developed a bond with this doctor and got used to him but enough is enough.
If anyone has any similar stories to share, please do so.
(unfortunately, I could not locate the date this article was created)
Addicts' cure has fatal flaw
By Maureen Boyle, Enterprise staff writer
BROCKTON — Heroin addicts are lining up to pay hundreds of dollars a week to Massachusetts doctors who refuse to accept medical insurance for Suboxone, the FDA-approved drug that allows physicians to treat opioid abuse in the privacy of their offices.
Some doctors are charging desperate addicts up to $3,000 for initial visits — and hundreds more for office visits lasting just a few minutes — before handing over a prescription for Suboxone, parents and experts in the field said.
“There are doctors meeting people in parking lots, telling them, 'Go to the back door of my house,' ” said Colleen LaBelle, program manager at Boston Medical Center's opioid treatment program. “It is just abominable.” It is happening across the country.
The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment found 72 percent of patients were paying cash for treatment, with some doctors complaining it was too hard to get reimbursed by insurance companies. Buprenorphine is the active ingredient in Suboxone. “The doctors say it is not worth the fight,” said Timothy Lepak, president of the alliance.
Suboxone, approved by the FDA in 2002, is the first approved medication for opioid treatment in a doctor's office, and has been heralded by some as a wonder drug for people addicted to prescription painkillers and heroin. Those treated with Suboxone take one to two tablets of the medication daily to suppress withdrawal symptoms and reduce cravings. The pills are placed under the tongue and dissolved.
Doctors can treat up to 100 Suboxone patients if they undergo an eight-hour course offered by medical societies, get a waiver from the Drug Enforcement Administration, and notify the government of their plans. That number was increased from 30 per medical practice — not physician — last December after complaints that there weren't enough slots to treat the growing need. About 150,000 people were treated with Suboxone in the country as of August 2005, according to the makers of Suboxone, and the numbers are growing.
“Parents will pay anything to get their children help,” said Joanne Peterson, founder of Learn to Cope, a support group for parents of opiate-addicted children. But with the growth — and hope the drug offers — comes the potential for greed, several said.
“There are a lot of shabby practices,” Punyamurtula Kishore, a doctor who specializes in drug treatment, said of some doctors. “They take calls and they take the ones with the cash.” He said some of the doctors are making up to a half-million dollars a year seeing patients who want Suboxone. “When you are desperate, you do anything and people are desperate for help,” said Kishore.
One Braintree mother said her 20-year-old son paid $300 for his first visit, $150 for the second and $75 each week to one doctor to get a Suboxone prescription, even though he had Blue Cross/Blue Shield medical insurance. And when the family questioned the doctor about the treatment, she said he got mad. “He said, 'If you don't want the service and you don't want the drug, you can go elsewhere,' ” she said. He wound up relapsing and his drug use escalated, she said. His parents recently found him in the bathroom, overdosing on heroin. “We spent $1,200 to do CPR on our son,” his mother said. “It was a very traumatic event.”
Lepak, who heads the The National Alliance of Advocates for Buprenorphine Treatment, said the cash-only policy by some doctors casts a good drug in a bad light. “It takes away the credibility of the treatment. It makes it seem like it is something shady,” Lepak said.
The doctors that do take insurance — and insist on counseling — often have long wait lists, parents say. There are also 15 clinics in the state, including one at Boston Medical Center, that provide Suboxone treatment. Another health center, The New Bedford Community Health Center, is expected to receive a grant to also provide Suboxone treatment. It was the only health center in this area to apply for the money.
Chantel Nouvellon, a Waltham psychiatrist who accepts three different forms of insurance for Suboxone treatment, said getting reimbursed can take a long time, depending on the insurance, and some doctors may not want to deal with the paperwork to get paid. “For some insurances, sometimes you don't get paid for a year,” Nouvellon, of Arlington, said. Christine D'Eramo, formerly of Abington, tried Suboxone and was able to stay clean for nearly a year before relapsing. “I don't think it is a miracle pill,” D'Eramo, who is now drug-free again, said. “If you already want to get clean, it can help you. If you don't want to get clean, you are going to use.”
LaBelle said at Boston Medical Center, where she works, older addicts who have been battling substance abuse for years appear to have the most success with Suboxone. “It is a great option. It doesn't work for everybody. It is a lot more effective for those who are really done. It is not a medication for someone who just wants to still get high.” She said some of the younger addicts may not be ready to get treatment yet. “It is their parents that are the ones that are dragging them in by the hair,” LaBelle said.
Maureen Boyle can be reached at [email protected].
Addicts' cure has fatal flaw
www.methadonesupport.org/Addicts.doc
A note from me: I believe this is a problem for a lot of suboxone patients. I've been having issues with this problem myself. Just recently I acquired insurance and my doctor initially accepted it and brought up no problems that could come up. Even with insurance, he wants me to pay 50% of the visit cost. I just found out through e-mail that his services were reimbursed but he still wants the 50% just in case there are future problems. I pay $100 and the insurance paid him $300 on top of the $50 I paid him.
I am currently looking for a new doctor. I've developed a bond with this doctor and got used to him but enough is enough.If anyone has any similar stories to share, please do so.
