Traditionally serving adults, opioid abuse provider Bicycle Health announced a new program Tuesday for Maine youth.
Bicycle Health, based in Boston, offers medications for addiction treatment, access to medical professionals, therapy and peer support groups. It serves patients across 32 states and works with several major insurance plans, including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Blue Cross Blue Shield.
A new Maine youth care company program will support youth over the age of 16. On their first visit, they must be accompanied by a parent or responsible adult. If they are deemed eligible for care, they will receive Bicycle’s clinical support, including opioid use disorder medications, such as FDA-approved buprenorphine. These medications can help with withdrawal symptoms and reduce drug cravings.
Adolescent care will be tailored to each patient, said Dr. Brian Clear, chief medical officer of Bicycle Health.
“Cycling Life builds its care offerings around the needs of each patient and the latest addiction medicine guidelines and research,” Clear said in an email. “This will remain the case for 16- and 17-year-old patients in this program, who will be treated according to the recommendations for young people with diabetes. [opioid use disorder].”
Typically, young people with opioid use disorder are treated with a “step-wise approach” and many begin their treatment in residential programs based on withdrawal, according to Clear. However, these programs have a high relapse rate. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends medications such as buprenorphine for the treatment of adolescents with severe opioid use disorder.
To measure the success of the new program in Maine, the company will evaluate enrollment rates, patient and provider feedback and patient retention. Bicycle Health also tracks these metrics for its seniors, it said.
Bicycle Health chose to start the program in Maine because state donors have made the company aware of the need for this type of treatment, he noted. In 2019, 10% of Maine high school students reported abusing prescription drugs. A 2023 survey found that about 5.2% of Maine high school students had taken a prescription drug without a prescription in the past 30 days.
It is clear that the company wants to expand its youth services to other countries.
“We are confident that this program will be a successful plan that we will be able to build on to continue to increase opportunities for troubled youth. [opioid use disorder],” It said clearly.
In the end, treating Maine’s youth is “just another step” in Bicycle Health’s plan to fight the opioid epidemic, the statement said.
“Our goal for this program is to make safe and effective OUD treatment readily available for underserved youth,” he said. “Many adults with OUD today may experience harmful behaviors or addictive behaviors that began in their youth; these problems may persist and worsen for years or decades before they are resolved, however they are treatable at any age. We hope that programs like these that help patients start their recovery journey earlier will help prevent the devastating effects of OUD on many people across the country. ”
Other companies that offer addiction services include Ophelia and Boulder Care. The latter also has a youth program. In January, Boulder announced it would offer telehealth and medication management services to eligible Washington youth covered by the UnitedHealthcare Community Plan, a Medicaid plan.
Photo credit: Bohdan Skrypnyk, Getty Images
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