Clearbrook President Gets it Wrong

A blurb in the buprenorphine newsfeed (see the bupe news link in the header of this page), has the headline ‘Suboxone challenged by Clearbrook President’. I followed the link, and after reading the ‘article’ I wanted to comment to that president but the person’s name wasn’t included, let alone an email address or comment section. So I’ll have to comment here instead.

The article was one of those PR notices that anyone can purchase for about 100 bucks, in this case from ‘PR Newswire’. It’s a quick and easy way to get a headline into Google News, which pulls headlines for certain keywords like ‘Suboxone’ or ‘addiction’.

The Clearbrook president makes the comment that this 180-degree swing to ‘medication assisted treatment’ is a big mistake. He says that in his 19 years in the industry he has seen ‘thousands’ of people ‘experience sobriety’. I’ll cut and paste his conclusion:

There is no coming into treatment and getting cured from the disease of Addiction. There is no pill or remedy that will magically make one better. Those looking for a quick fix to addiction and the treatment modality being used by the vast majority of treatment providers today, will be disappointed with the direction our field is taking when this newest solution doesn’t live up to its claims.

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Drug Court Organization Lobbied Against Suboxone

For years, people familiar with the benefits of buprenorphine have wondered- who is the idiot standing in the way of increasing access to this life-saving treatment? One of the idiots was recently identified, when an open-records request by the Huffington Post uncovered a letter to HHS Secretary Sylvia Burwell from West Huddleston, then-CEO of the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

In the letter, Huddleston wrote that allowing doctors to see more than the current limit allows ‘will result in the expanded use of buprenorphine in a manner that is less responsible and presents greater risk to the health and safety of the individuals and communities we both serve.’ The Huffington Post correctly points out that over 28,000 Americans died from opioid overdose in 2014, when the letter was written.

People familiar with buprenorphine know that the medication virtually eliminates the risk of death by overdose- even when taken incorrectly. The anti-medication lobby, fueled by the large profits of revolving-door ‘abstinence-based’ treatments, has used fear of diversion of buprenorphine as a weapon against greater access to the medication. But stories about diversion always fail to mention key facts about buprenorphine- for example that of the 30,000 US opioid overdose deaths last year, only about 40 had buprenorphine identified as one of the drugs in the bloodstream at the time of death. And of those 30,000 deaths, none were CAUSED by buprenorphine.

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Addiction Recovery Act of 2015

With appreciation to the good folks at BDSI, makers of Bunavail:

Here is the latest news concerning the Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act of 2015 (aka Heroin Crisis Act):

It has easily passed Committee and is headed to the Senate floor next week. If approved, the bill is scheduled to go into effect this year. Here are some new highlights:

  • The proposed funding was originally $80 million. It may go to $1.2 billion with a proposal of $600 million in emergency funding (note that this article says ‘billion’, but that is a typo. Other sources confirm $600 million.
  • Mid-level providers are looking to be added to those who can treat opioid-dependent patients
  • Language addressing regulations around the current marketing, manufacturing and prescribing of prescription opioids (pain meds)

This funding (including any emergency monies) would directly impact every state. Additional federal funding would not only mean additional education and treatment services but could also mean more affordable access to medicated assisted treatment.

Subox Docs: Analyze This!

People on buprenorphine or Suboxone often write to me with complaints about lab testing. I received an email last week that mirrors my personal experience with lab testing companies.

Here is what it said:

Dr. Junig:

I thought you might find this interesting. I continue to see (name withheld) for addiction treatment using buprenorphine. I see the doctor every three months, and I’m prescribed a low dose of Suboxone film (below 4 mg per day). I recently got an insurance denial for over $2000 in lab charges, for ONE urine test! Evidently someone sent my tests to (lab name withheld for patient privacy) who billed for 23 tests! This is on a test that was negative for any substances other than the proper amount of buprenorphine. This is like a license to print money! The same thing happened three or four years ago with (a National lab provider), but that was ‘only’ $600 and it eventually got written off. I have no idea if (withheld) will come after me- but there is no way I’ll pay them a dime.

Is there any wonder health costs are so out of control? How can a company get away with this? I have a feeling this is just routine and someone on the staff sent it by mistake as after the first incident with the other lab. My doctor doesn’t usually send my tests into a lab, but instead just does the immune point-of-care test in the office.

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