Regence partners with Hazelden Betty Ford, builds on work to confront opioid epidemic

Regence is partnering with the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation to expand access to high-quality, evidence-based addiction treatment services for millions of people and families in Washington, Oregon, Utah and Idaho.
Hazelden Betty Ford is the nation’s leading nonprofit addiction treatment provider, with 17 sites nationwide, including a residential care site in Newberg, Ore., and outpatient clinics in Beaverton, Ore., and Bellevue, Wash. The partnership gives Regence members in those states in-network access to those Hazelden Betty Ford locations, as well as its 14 other sites in the U.S.
Regence’s partnership with Hazelden Betty Ford is another chapter in a broad-based approach to confronting 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 yielding 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.
Regence is committed to a comprehensive and collaborative strategy to decrease the misuse of opioids while ensuring that those for whom opioids are an appropriate treatment still have access.
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 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.”
To learn more about Regence’s work on opioids, visit regence.com/opioid-response.