Public Policy Update: August 19, 2010
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August 19, 2010
The National Council is pleased to announce that since Hill Day, the number of cosponsors on the Health IT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act (HR 5040) has more than doubled! Thanks to behavioral health advocates' efforts, the number of cosponsors has grown from 35 to 73. In addition, a Senate companion bill (S. 3709) has been introduced by Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and six cosponsors. This is excellent progress, but we can’t stop yet – here’s what you can do to help move this important legislation forward:
- Contact your Senators and urge them to sign on to S. 3709. Did your Senators express support for behavioral health IT when you met with them at Hill Day? Now would be a great time to let them know the Senate bill has been introduced and encourage them to sign on. Click here to send a message to your Senators today.
- Reach out to your Representatives to either thank them for supporting HR 5040 or to encourage them to sign on! We still need more cosponsors for this legislation if it is to have a chance of becoming law. You can see the full list of cosponsors at opencongress.org by clicking “View Co-sponsors” under bill author Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s picture.
All of the National Council’s fact sheets, summaries, FAQs, and other resources on this legislation are available on the Health Information Technology page of our website. For the most up-to-date information on federal electronic health record (EHR) incentive payments in Medicaid, visit the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid services EHR Incentive website.
The National Council has signed on to comments drafted by two national coalitions in response to proposed regulations on healthcare reform issued by the Obama Administration.
Grandfathered Status for Health Insurance Plans: Healthcare reform includes a grandfather clause allowing existing health insurance plans to be exempted from many of the law’s requirements. Under this interim final regulation, plans would lose their grandfathered status if they make significant changes to benefits, copayments, deductibles, and premiums. The Coalition for Whole Health, of which the National Council is a member, has drafted comments supporting the requirement that grandfathered insurance plans comply with the mental health and addiction parity provisions of the law. Our comments encourage the Administration to retain this and other important provisions in the final regulation and to strengthen enforcement provisions so as to further protect consumers.
Patient Protection Regulations: These regulations provide guidance on implementing healthcare reform’s prohibition on annual and lifetime limits, insurance rescissions, and pre-existing condition exclusions. The National Council has signed on to comments by the Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities in support of these regulations. Our comments urge the Administration to include bans on excessive waiting periods and the arbitrary restriction of benefits frequently used by individuals with disabilities. We also suggest several changes that could further strengthen the regulations.
You can keep up to date on the latest federal healthcare reform regulations, along with the National Council’s responses, on the Federal Regulations section of MentalHealthcareReform.org.
Under healthcare reform, Medicaid will expand to cover all individuals under 133% of poverty by 2014. Past experiences with implementing Medicare Part D and Massachusetts’ early experiment with healthcare reform suggest that without aggressive outreach and enrollment efforts, individuals with serious mental illness and substance use disorders (SUD) may remain uninsured despite being eligible for Medicaid. As states and mental health/SUD advocates plan for the Medicaid expansion, several new resources are available to assist with enrollment efforts:
- Expanding Medicaid to Low‐Income Childless Adults under Health Reform: Key Lessons from State Experiences. This Kaiser Family Foundation report finds that outreach should be targeted for newly eligible adults with chronic mental health conditions and/or with substance abuse problems, as they may be unable to complete the enrollment process without assistance. Effective examples are offered from several states.
- Ready, Set, Plan, Implement: Executing The Expansion Of Medicaid. This Health Affairs article examines decisions states will have to make about coverage in the Medicaid expansion plans and suggests elements to consider in order to ensure adults with mental illness receive appropriate disability benefits. (Access to the abstract is free; access to the full article is limited to Health Affairs subscribers.)
- Establishing and Maintaining Medicaid Eligibility upon Release from Public Institutions. This SAMHSA report describes a program in Oklahoma to assist inmates with mental illness with applying for Medicaid and/or disability benefits.
The National Council has published a fact sheet with additional information for behavioral health providers on enrollment in the Medicaid expansion. More enrollment resources can be found here on the National Council’s healthcare reform blog, MentalHealthcareReform.org.
The Obama Administration is seeking stories from Americans in all 50 states who have benefitted or will benefit from healthcare reform. Selected stories will be highlighted on the White House website and through other public mechanisms. Help ensure that individuals with disabilities are included in this effort by sharing your story!
- The Administration is seeking stories from individuals in the following areas:
- Individuals or families who had their care rescinded after they got sick
- Individual or family on a plan that had a lifetime limit that will be illegal beginning September 23
- Enrollees with plans whose annual limits will be changed because of the new law
- Young adults who will be able to stay on their parents’ plan
- Child with pre-existing condition who recently obtained coverage in the private market after being denied for coverage before the law was passed
- Small business owners and employees who will benefit from the small business tax credits
To share your story, please respond to Rebecca at rebeccaf@thenationalcouncil.org with your name, date of birth, hometown, state, email, phone number, and story. The deadline for collecting stories is Monday, August 23, 2010. There is no guarantee that any particular story will be highlighted, but the National Council will pass all stories that we receive along to the Administration.
The Social Security Administration Ticket to Work program provides disability beneficiaries with opportunities to obtain employment, vocational rehabilitation, and other services and supports. MAXIMUS, which runs the daily operations of Ticket to Work, has made available on its website (http://www.yourtickettowork.com/training) a wealth of resources providing background on the program, details of how to apply, successful outreach strategies, training resources, and much more. Additionally, MAXIMUS will hold a national teleconference on Thursday, Aug. 26 at 2:00 PM Eastern Time to go over “Three Steps to a Successful Mental Health Ticket Program.” Topics will include job placement for clients with mental illness.
Check out the National Council’s healthcare reform blog for the latest news about reform implementation, along with resources to help you learn about the law and take advantage of its many provisions. New this week on MentalHealthcareReform.org:
- How States Can Take Advantage of New Opportunities in Home- and Community-based Services
- Make Your Voice Heard on Health Reform Implementation
- NIATx Third-Party Billing Guide
- And much more!
