In recent years, media coverage has unmasked the dangers of obstructive sleep apnea, with a focus put on the trucking industry. This isn’t new to truckers, but there has been fuzziness in the rules for years, namely lack of federal policy on testing and analysis that manifested from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) as simply guidance, not policy.
Late in 2013, President Obama took a step in the right direction to take anecdotal evidence and haphazard testing out of the equation, signing into law legislation requiring that any federal standards governing commercial motor vehicle operators on sleep apnea be made through a formal rulemaking process.
The American Trucking Association and International Brotherhood of Teamsters supported President Obama in signing the bill into law. Thing of it is, trucking advocates and officials want safe roads too; they just want a full and thorough regulatory review by FMCSA, including scientific data and a cost-benefit analysis if FMCSA is going to mandate widespread testing because of the heavy cost burden the trucking industry will bear. Some changes in policy have been made, however, the issue still remains confusing to many in the trucking industry (and most outside of it) about required testing for sleep apnea.
In fact, as part of the National Transportation Safety Board’s annual Top 10 Most Wanted for safety regulations, the agency this year asked FMCSA to clarify the topic and institute sleep apnea screening with regulatory guidance.
As noted by Tampa, Florida-based Advanzeon Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB:CHCR) in a press release on Wednesday, "FMCSA mandated that, effective May 21, 2014, as a condition of each driver's maintenance of his or her commercial driver's license (CDL), he or she must be screened by a Department of Transportation (DOT) approved Certified Medical Examiner for sleep apnea." If sleep apnea is suspected, additional testing is required to confirm if the driver indeed suffers from the disorder. Subsequently, the driver must undergo treatment with the reports periodically submitted to the DOT.
Formerly known as Comprehensive Care Corp., Advanzeon provides behavioral health, substance abuse and pharmacy management services, as well as sleep apnea programs, for employers, Taft-Hartley health and welfare Funds, and managed care companies throughout the U.S. The additional sleep apnea treatment falls under the umbrella of Advanzeon through its wholly-owned subsidiary Pharmacy Value Management Solutions, or PVMS for short.
Wednesday’s announcement was centered on PVMS as the Teamsters Trust Fund selected PVMS as its vendor to provide its members with the PVMS SleepMaster Solutions Program. The non-clinic program works in conjunction with the Certified Medical Examiners approved by the DOT to provide the requisite driver treatment, monitoring and reporting. (Additional information on the program on the
Advanzeon website is scant.)
"We are confident that our Program will bring an immense benefit to the Teamsters participating in the Teamsters Trust Fund and will be a model treatment program for all Teamsters nationally," commented Jerry Smith, Chief Operating Officer at PVMS, in the press release.
Shares of CHCR, which appear to be very thinly traded judging by the chart, have not reacted to yesterday’s news. The stock is currently trading at 10 cents, equating to a market capitalization of $6.3 million, based on information from QuoteMedia.
