Taft-Hartley & multi-employer benefit plans

SUD treatment members will actually use, because they can keep working through it.

Virtual Intensive Outpatient (ASAM 2.1) for working members who need to keep their job, their book status, and their pension hours during treatment. PHP-intensity (2.5) hour expansion available case-by-case under payer authorization. Ambulatory withdrawal management for low-risk withdrawal where appropriate. Fully telehealth. Credentialing with the major BH carve-outs your fund already uses.

Schedule a fund overview call Schedule a 20-min call Call the fund line
DHCS-licensed (CA Cert 191663AP)
Member self-refer or fund-refer
Prior auth handled by us
Credentialing in process, single-case agreements available now
Aetna
Anthem CA
Blue Shield CA
Carelon
Cigna / Evernorth
ComPsych
Health Net
Humana BH
Kaiser NorCal
Magellan
MultiPlan / PHCS
Optum / UHC

SCAs typically turn around in 3-10 business days for any commercial or self-funded plan. Medi-Cal pending county MOU; Medicare not accepted. Verify status with admissions, payer contracts update continuously.

How we work with funds

Three steps from first call to member in care.

Your member assistance team or a trustee can refer directly. We do the eligibility, the prior auth, and the back-and-forth with the BH carve-out.

1

Member or fund initiates

Member calls our line directly, or your MAP coordinator sends a warm referral. We confirm fund eligibility within one business hour.

2

We handle authorization

ASAM Criteria 4th edition multidimensional assessment. We submit prior auth to your BH carve-out (Carelon, Magellan, Optum, Anthem BH, etc.), IOP (2.1) is the standard authorization; PHP-intensity (2.5) hour expansion when medical necessity supports.

3

Member starts IOP, keeps working

IOP cohorts scheduled around dispatch, hall calls, or rotating shifts where possible. Member doesn't take 30 days off the book. Ambulatory withdrawal management available for low-risk alcohol or opioid withdrawal as a precursor.

Cost discipline

Outpatient where the evidence supports outpatient. Materially lower fund spend.

Residential SUD treatment is the highest-cost line item in most multi-employer health plans. ASAM Criteria (4th edition, 2023) place a meaningful share of cases at outpatient or intensive outpatient, not residential, when the patient does not require 24-hour medical monitoring. Virtual delivery removes room-and-board on top of that.

We will model expected per-episode cost against your fund's most recent residential admissions. Walk-through deck on request, claims aggregate is enough, no PHI required.

No room & board line item

Telehealth delivery removes the largest variable cost in residential SUD treatment.

Lower disability impact

Members who don't take 30-day leave generate fewer short-term disability claims and fewer lost-shift hours against the fund's own contributions.

Step-down inside the program

2.5 (when authorized) → IOP (2.1) → outpatient (1.0) continuing care, without re-auth for a new facility. Concurrent review at the cadence the carve-out requires.

One contact for trustees

You don't talk to a call center. Direct line to a partner-success lead who knows your fund's plan documents.

Built for trades, transit, public sector

Members keep their book, their pension hours, and their privacy.

A 30-day residential admission means a member off the out-of-work list, lost pension hours, and a return-to-work conversation they don't want to have. Virtual IOP, with PHP-intensity hour expansion when authorized, removes those costs.

Confidential by design

42 CFR Part 2 protected. Hall, foreman, dispatcher, and steward have no access to treatment records.

Schedules built around shift work

Evening IOP cohorts available. PHP-intensity (2.5) cohorts available for members on leave or short-term disability when medical necessity supports.

Family programming if needed

Spouses and adult family members invited to weekly family sessions when clinically indicated.

MAT continuation

Members on buprenorphine or naltrexone continue under our Medical Director. Methadone-maintained members stay with their OTP; we provide the psychosocial component in coordination.

Schedule a fund overview call

For trustees, fund administrators, MAP coordinators, and benefit consultants. We respond within one business day. Do not include member detail.

For benefit-administration and fund-coordination contacts only. Do not enter member identifiers or PHI on this form. By submitting you consent to a return business call. Privacy policy.

Shift Support Network (Vanguard Labs LLC) is licensed by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS Cert 191663AP) for ASAM Outpatient (1.0), Intensive Outpatient (2.1), and ambulatory withdrawal management, with PHP-intensity (2.5) rendered case-by-case under DHCS BHIN 24-001 hour expansion with payer authorization. We do not provide residential, inpatient, or medically managed withdrawal services, when ASAM places a member at 3.1+, we triage to a partner facility. Substance use treatment records are protected under 42 CFR Part 2. We do not pay for referrals and we do not accept payment for them. Cost modeling provided pre-engagement is illustrative. Coverage is verified before admission and is not a guarantee of payment.

DHCS Cert 191663AP HIPAA 42 CFR Part 2 LegitScript pending ERISA aware