2026 Agenda

A candid conversation across three vantage points, practice owners, a payer-side strategist, and an AI builder. We'll dig into the pressure practices feel today, the financial squeeze across the industry, and what payers are doing with AI on the other side of the table. From there we get practical: which AI use cases are actually working on the ground, how to evaluate vendors when every pitch sounds the same and what separates tools that stick from tools that get abandoned, and finally the jobs question, what AI really means for the people doing this work today.

The SUD market is at an inflection point as payers face growing pressure to expand coverage and improve outcomes amid rising addiction rates nationwide. At the same time, workforce challenges, shrinking margins and policy changes are creating persistent headwinds for operators. In this opening panel, C-suite provider executives and other leaders will set the stage for the SUD Business Summit while exploring the future of the industry.

Running a behavioral health organization means operating under relentless pressure — to get more people into care, keep them engaged, and sustain the financial health that makes the mission possible. Most providers are still managing all of it on instinct, experience, and incomplete data.

AI is changing that. Not just at the front door, but across the entire patient journey. From helping more people reach care to keeping them engaged longer, to giving leadership the visibility they need to act on the metrics that matter most — AI is emerging as a core operating tool for providers who want to grow their impact without losing financial ground.

In this session, panelists will share insights and perspectives on deploying AI across the behavioral health care continuum. Together, they'll explore what's working in practice, where AI is moving the needle on access and engagement, and how it's reshaping the relationship between clinical mission and business outcomes.

As payer scrutiny increases and reimbursement becomes more complex, behavioral health organizations must rethink how compliance, operations, and revenue cycle work together. This panel explores practical strategies to reduce revenue leakage, strengthen compliance, improve operational performance, and build a more financially resilient organization.

For operators navigating razor-thin margins and rising regulatory complexity, compliance can feel like an endless cost center. But it doesn't have to be. As payers deploy AI to deny claims faster and more aggressively, forward-thinking organizations are flipping the script by using technology to turn compliance infrastructure into a strategic asset. This session explores how to reduce denial exposure before it hits the P&L, why documentation quality is increasingly the difference between getting paid and getting clawed back, and how operators who get this right are building a competitive moat that's hard to replicate.

As federal and state policymakers intensify focus on the addiction crisis, the SUD policy landscape is rapidly evolving. Key developments include strengthened parity enforcement, expanded Medicaid access to MAT, and ongoing debates around harm reduction, telehealth flexibilities, and criminal justice reform.

As demand for addiction treatment services grows, many expansion efforts face costly delays despite strong need and investment. This panel unpacks the operational, regulatory and workforce barriers slowing projects and dives into actionable strategies to align funding timelines, accreditation, and construction realities with community demand.

As the definition of addiction broadens beyond substance use, emerging behavioral addictions – including problematic social media use, gaming disorders, and the surge in gambling driven by sports betting legalization – are gaining urgent attention from clinicians, policymakers, and payers alike. This panel will explore how to adapt existing SUD frameworks, treatment models and coverage policies to address these new frontiers.

Refuel and recharge with executives and innovators in the SUD industry by enjoying lunch, where meaningful introductions and collaborative conversations are always on the menu.

BHB+ members are invited to join a collaborative discussion on the evolving landscape of the SUD industry over an exclusive networking lunch.

After years of aggressive consolidation, the SUD market is entering a new M&A era defined by caution and strategic precision. This discussion explores how shifting valuations, payer pressures and operational risks are reshaping deal flow, highlighting why investors are favoring quality over quantity and how providers can stay competitive in a slower, smarter rollup environment.

Behavioral health and addiction treatment organizations have no shortage of data, but many leaders still struggle to translate that information into better business and clinical decisions. The organizations that will thrive over the next decade won't be those collecting the most data. They'll be the ones using it to identify risk sooner, improve outcomes, optimize operations and drive sustainable growth.

This session will explore how executive leaders are leveraging near real-time dashboards, predictive analytics and operational insights to answer critical questions: Which patients are at greatest risk of disengaging from treatment? Which programs are producing the strongest outcomes? Where are staffing, capacity, referral patterns and financial performance creating opportunities or risks for the organization?

We'll also examine how connecting data across providers, payers and community partners creates a more complete view of each individual, strengthens care coordination and positions organizations for value-based care.

Attendees will leave with practical strategies for building a data-driven organization that improves outcomes, increases operational efficiency, strengthens financial performance and gives leadership the confidence to make faster, more informed decisions.

The data is clear on when patients leave SUD treatment — and it's rarely during a session. It's in the 160+ hours between weekly appointments, during transitions between levels of care, and in high-risk moments when no clinician is available and no peer is within reach. This panel brings together providers to examine where those gaps occur, what contingency management and digital engagement strategies are doing to fill them, and what closing the gap actually returns in both clinical outcomes and program revenue.

Everyone tracks denials and aging A/R, but those metrics only tell part of the story. By the time revenue appears on an A/R report, the events that put it at risk have often been unfolding for weeks or the opportunity to collect was lost before a claim was ever submitted. This session explores the hidden revenue leaks that occur throughout the revenue cycle, from eligibility and prior authorization to documentation, enrollment, claim submission, and underpayments. Attendees will leave with insight into identifying issues earlier, preventing avoidable revenue loss, and shifting from reacting to financial problems to preventing them.

Take a breather between sessions to mingle with fellow attendees, exchange ideas, and build relationships with professionals shaping the future of the SUD industry.

The intersection of SUD and the criminal justice system represents one of the most complex and underserved challenges in behavioral health, with a disproportionate share of individuals cycling through incarceration without access to evidence-based treatment. Momentum is growing around diversion programs, drug courts, and re-entry support models that prioritize treatment over punishment. This panel will explore this trend and what it means for the industry.

As payment models, workforce costs, and patient acuity evolve, not every SUD treatment approach is proving financially sustainable. This panel dives into which business models – and service lines – are truly driving margins from value-based care and outpatient hybrids to tech-enabled recovery supports.

Join us for an interactive Town Hall session where addiction care leaders take a candid look at the current state of the SUD treatment landscape. This is your chance to get any questions answered as we close the event.