Last year, Dr. Bronner’s soap made headlines when it began offering psychedelic assisted therapy through its employee health plans. The healthcare nonprofit that provided the treatment has now expanded the offer to include patients from across the country.
Enthea announced on Wednesday that ketamine-assisted treatment is now available to employees across the country.
The company stated that employers who are interested in covering ketamine as a treatment “can add it to their benefits package, just like dental and vision coverage.”
Sherry Rais, CEO and cofounder of Enthea, said: “Nationwide accessibility represents a pivotal point in achieving Enthea’s mission to help employers with workplace mental-health challenges.” Enthea’s services make it simple for businesses to offer this safe and effective treatment to their employees. We are proud of our potential to affect the millions of Americans living with mental illness.
In a press release, the company stated that this expansion was possible due to new partnerships which expand Enthea’s provider network. These include Skylight Psychedelics & Innerwell.
According to findings released last month, the results were generally positive. Employees who received company-funded ketamine therapy coverage reported “dramatic improvements in mental health.” According to findings published last month, employees treated with ketamine reported “dramatic improvements” in their mental health.
The dissociative drug was said to have improved the symptoms of anxiety and depression by 65 percent.
David Bronner, CEO of Enthea and a long-time supporter of drug policy reform, stated at the time, “I’m particularly proud to be partnering with Enthea in order to offer ketamine assisted therapy to our employees.” While not everyone has experienced such profound healing, many members of our team have reported dramatic changes in their lives due to ketamine assisted therapy. We hope that other companies and organisations will also partner with Enthea to offer this benefit to staff.
Experts already consider the drug an effective treatment for conditions like treatment-resistant depression or post-traumatic disorder. The Food and Drug Administration has approved ketamine for anesthetic use at the federal level. It is not approved to treat any psychiatric conditions, but doctors can administer it off-label, just like with other pharmaceuticals.
Dan Rome, Enthea’s chief medical officer, said that ketamine was a valuable tool to help therapists treat these disorders. When mental defenses are reduced, patients can get to the core of their issues. This can lead to long-term relief
Esketamine, an FDA-approved nasal aerosol spray that has similar effects is approved for treatment-resistant depression. Schedule III of Controlled Substances Act classifies both esketamine as well as ketamine.
Despite clinics operating from Alabama to Washington, it can be difficult or even impossible to get coverage by mainstream insurers due the regulatory situation.
Nora Volkow, Director of the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2021, said that the research on ketamine‘s benefits for treatment-resistant Depression was “eye opening” and that there are more studies on the horizon. We have funded ongoing research on ketamine as an opiate painkiller and also for ketamine.
Volkow stated that “we need to learn what the evidence shows us.” “If we are able to use ketamine in a safe way for severe depression, then this shows that drugs we previously thought were harmful can be used in therapeutic ways.”
Enthea has announced that it will continue to expand its services, including MDMA and psilocybin assisted therapies, “as soon as they are approved.” MDMA is on track for FDA consideration in the coming year, following successful Phase 3-clinical trials published earlier this week.
In 2017, FDA recognized MDMA as ” breakthrough treatment“. In a new study published in Nature earlier this month, MDMA-facilitated therapy was found to reduce symptoms among patients with moderate or severe PTSD. The randomized double-blinded placebo-controlled study involved 104 patients with PTSD. The study found that not only were treatments “generally well tolerated,” but also therapy showed strong results among participants.
In June, the FDA published its draft guidance on psychedelic research.
Bronner has also revealed at a conference in July that he is supporting similar reform endeavors in Massachusetts and Arizona. At a July conference, the soap magnate revealed that similar reform efforts are being supported in Massachusetts and Arizona.
Enthea announced last month that it has expanded its treatment plan in partnership with Nue Life to include telemedicine, at-home care and ketamine.
California Governor Will Decide On 17 Marijuana And Psychedelics Bills By October 14
Photo courtesy of Wikimedia/Psychonaught.
The post Healthcare provider will offer coverage for Ketamine treatment on employee insurance plans Nationwide first appeared on Marijuana moment.
