October 22, 2009

ACTION NEEDED: Sign on to Letter for Inclusion of Therapeutic Foster Care in Healthcare Reform

Final Senate Finance Health Bill Includes Key Changes to Mental Health Provisions; National Council Members Participate in National Healthcare Reform Call-in Day

Appropriations Update: Labor-HHS-Education Bill Still Awaiting Vote; Omnibus Bill Likely

ACTION NEEDED: Sign on to Letter for Inclusion of Therapeutic Foster Care in Healthcare Reform

As the Senate and House leadership work to reconcile multiple versions of healthcare reform, we need your help to ensure the inclusion of a provision which clarifies the definition of therapeutic foster care and protects Medicaid reimbursement for TFC programs. 

Two committees have already approved the TFC provision, but congressional leaders are now working to merge these bills with those of three other committees.  The National Council has signed on to a letter to congressional leaders urging them to ensure that the TFC provision is included in the final version of healthcare reform that each chamber will consider.  We strongly encourage you to sign on to the letter as well!

WE NEED YOUR HELP: Sign your organization on to the TFC letter by emailing Laura Weidner (lweidner@cwla.org) by 12:00 noon EDT on Friday, October 23 to ensure that TFC is included in healthcare reform!


Final Senate Finance Health Bill Includes Key Changes to Mental Health Provisions; National Council Members Participate in National Healthcare Reform Call-in Day

The Senate Finance Committee this week released the legislative language of the healthcare reform bill it approved as a conceptual document earlier this month.  The legislative language includes two key changes with respect to mental health:

• Medicaid Benefits Expansion: Beginning in 2014, any benchmark or equivalent plan for childless adults would be required to offer mental health and substance abuse disorder services.  These services must be offered at parity with physical health services (see pg. 276).
• Medicaid Chronic Disease Demonstration Project: In the provision creating a Medicaid state option for healthcare home demonstration projects, “mental health condition” and “substance abuse” are now included in the list of chronic conditions eligible for inclusion in the demonstrations (see pg. 633).

The National Council strongly supports both these changes, as well as a proposal by Senator John Kerry (D-MA) to allow states to negotiate with plans in the exchange, rather than simply to accept all licensed health plans.  This proposal will give states an important tool to control the rise of healthcare costs over the long term.  The National Council has also signed on to a letter to Senator Kerry expressing support for this proposed change.

Another change under consideration is a proposal in the House to raise Medicaid eligibility from 133 percent of the federal poverty level to 150 percent.  Under this proposal, all Americans under 150 percent, including childless adults, would be eligible to enroll in Medicaid.  The National Council has signed on to a letter by the Partnership for Medicaid in support of this proposal.

The National Council would like to thank those of you who responded to Tuesday’s action alert for a National Healthcare Reform Call-in Day.  Your participation, along with the calls to action from many other organizations around the country, resulted in over 300,000 calls in support of healthcare reform being placed to members of Congress.  Thank you for your involvement!

As the House and Senate continue their work on merging their respective committees’ bills, stay tuned to the Public Policy Update for more news on proposed changes to the bills and ways to get involved. 


Appropriations Update: Labor-HHS-Education Bill Still Awaiting Vote; Omnibus Bill Likely

The 2010 appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education is still awaiting action on the Senate floor.  The bill was approved by the House in July, and a slightly different version was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and reported to the Senate floor on Aug. 4.  With five appropriations bills, healthcare reform, and other business still before the Senate, the congressional leadership may decide to combine the appropriations bills into an omnibus package in order to win approval by the end of the year.  The decision on whether to move the bills as an omnibus will likely be made by October 31, when the continuing resolution that is currently funding much of the government’s operation expires. 

For details on the items of interest to the mental health and substance abuse community in the Labor-HHS-Education appropriations bill, visit the National Council’s Federal Budget Webpage, which includes updates on the status of the bill and a chart comparing the mental health and substance abuse appropriations requests.