The demand for behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment facilities has never been higher. Across the country, investors are exploring opportunities to convert hospitality assets, redevelop healthcare properties, and build new treatment campuses to meet growing community demand. On paper, the market looks compelling: rising need, expanding reimbursement opportunities, and increasing public support…

This blog is based on content that Ascension CEO, Doug Leech, shared at the 3rd Annual Scars to STARs Summit on May 22, 2026. For many individuals struggling with substance use disorder (SUD), addiction is not the root problem — it is a coping strategy for unresolved trauma, chronic stress, shame, anxiety, or emotional pain. Research…

The conversation around ibogaine is shifting—and it’s accelerating. What was once considered fringe is now entering serious clinical discussion. Cultural voices like Joe Rogan helped bring early attention, but what’s driving the shift now is more substantive: emerging research, increasing patient demand, and real-world exposure. Providers across the U.S. are no longer speculating—they’re encountering patients…

The substance use disorder (SUD) industry entered 2026 expecting pressure. What it didn’t expect was how quickly that pressure would materialize. When $2 billion in SAMHSA grant funding was abruptly cut—then reinstated within 24 hours—it exposed a reality many providers have long understood but not fully operationalized: stability in behavioral health is often an illusion.…

Across the United States, communities are grappling with a difficult question: how do we effectively address homelessness when it is driven by substance use disorder (SUD) and serious mental illness? For years, the national conversation has centered on a model known as Housing First—the idea that people experiencing homelessness should receive rapid access to housing without…

Substance use disorder (SUD) rarely begins with a dramatic moment. More often, it grows quietly hidden behind stigma, isolation, and silence. One of the most enduring truths in recovery communities is simple: secrets can be deadly. Breaking that silence and replacing it with structured support is essential to restoring lives. At Ascension Recovery Services (ARS), the…

Value-based care in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment is not a trend. It is a necessary evolution. For decades, fee-for-service reimbursement has rewarded volume — visits, days, encounters — rather than long-term recovery. Yet addiction is a chronic condition. Sustainable recovery depends on continuity, coordination, and measurable progress over time. When payment structures focus only…

For Ascension Recovery Services, 2025 was not just another year of projects, openings, and milestones. It was a year that reminded us why we exist — to build programs that change lives, support communities, and bring recovery within reach for people who often have nowhere else to turn. At our core, we are an organization…

When I started my recovery journey, I had what so many do not: both familial and financial support. Even though the nearest treatment was out of state, my family made sure I could access quality care. I witnessed firsthand how rocky the path to healing can be when recovery is hampered by geography and cost.…

In a groundbreaking move, the landscape of mental health care and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment in the United States is undergoing a significant transformation. The shift began with the proposed 2024 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule, a document that outlined sweeping changes aimed at enhancing mental health and substance use services for millions of Americans.…