Public Policy Update: August 5, 2010
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August 5, 2010
Today, the Senate voted to pass a 6-month extension of enhanced federal assistance for Medicaid. The enhanced Federal Medical Assistance Percentage (FMAP) rates, which are the share of each state’s Medicaid program paid for by the federal government, were originally enacted as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. They are currently set to expire on Dec. 31, 2010, leaving many states with a gap in their Medicaid budgets at a time of continued high levels of demand for Medicaid services.
The bill approved by the Senate (HR 1586) would enact a 6-month extension of gradually phased-down assistance for states. Current FMAP rates are set at a level 6.2 percentage points higher than normal for all states, with additional aid for states experiencing very high unemployment. HR 1586 would phase down this assistance to 3.2 percentage points higher than normal from Jan.-Mar. 2011, and to 1.2 percentage points higher than normal from Apr.-June 2011. The FMAP extension is expected to cost $16.1 billion and is fully offset by spending reductions in other programs, including an early end in 2014 to enhanced food stamps benefits that were enacted in the recovery bill.
The FMAP extension will now go to the House for final approval. The House is currently in recess but will return to Washington next week for the vote.
The National Council extends our gratitude to the thousands of our members who have contacted their legislators in support of the FMAP extension. Since the FMAP extension was first introduced in Congress, you have generated nearly 7,000 emails and phone calls to your legislators urging their support – in addition to your hundreds of in-person visits with your legislators during Hill Day! Thank you for sharing with your Members of Congress the vital importance of the FMAP extension for you, your communities, and the individuals you serve. Your advocacy makes a difference!
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) today introduced the Health IT for Behavioral Health Services Act (S. 3709). This legislation would extend federal incentive payments for the adoption and meaningful use of health IT to previously ineligible behavioral health providers and facilities. Specifically, the bill adds clinical psychologists, clinical social workers, mental health and substance abuse treatment facilities, and psychiatric hospitals. The bill also makes these entities eligible for assistance from Health IT Regional Extension Centers.
The National Council has worked closely with Sen. Whitehouse on the introduction of this bill, which is cosponsored by Senators Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Al Franken (D-MN), Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). More cosponsors are needed if the bill is to have a chance of becoming law. Please contact your Senators today and urge them to sign on to this important legislation! If your Senators expressed support for behavioral health IT when you met with them at Hill Day, this is an opportunity to follow up with them and make sure they know the bill has been introduced. Don’t wait – act today!
This legislation is a companion bill to HR 5040 in the House. Please visit the new HIT page of our website to view a fact sheet on HR 5040, resources on the meaningful use incentive payments, and information about the importance of including behavioral health providers in these payments. Additionally, check out this MedSphere article featuring National Council Vice President for Public Policy Chuck Ingoglia discussing the importance of federal incentive payments for behavioral health IT.
The Fiscal Year 2011 appropriations bills continue moving through Congress, with the full House passing its version of the Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) bill, and the Senate Appropriations Committee approving spending levels for criminal justice and HHS programs:
Senate Appropriations Committee Labor-HHS-Education Bill: includes $54 million for programs for grants to support the co-location of primary and behavioral healthcare, a $40 million increase over FY 2010. The National Council strongly supports SAMHSA’s co-location grants and has worked closely with Congress to increase their funding.
Senate Appropriations Committee Commerce-Justice-Science Bill: includes $45 million for drug courts and $11 million for mental health courts. The Committee opted not to approve the President’s budget request to consolidate drug courts and Mentally Ill Offender programs (MIOTCRA).
House T-HUD Bill: includes $2.2 million for McKinney-Vento Homeless assistance grants, an 18% increase over FY 2010. The bill also includes $85 million for the Housing and Services for Homeless Persons Demonstration, $350 million for the Housing Opportunities for Persons with AIDS (HOPWA) program (a $15 million increase over FY 2010), and $75 million for veterans supportive housing initiatives.
The full House has now approved two of its FY 2011 spending bills, with the remaining 10 awaiting consideration by the House Appropriations Committee. In the Senate, 9 of 12 spending bills have moved through the Appropriations Committee and are awaiting a floor vote. Stay tuned to the Public Policy Update and the Federal Budget page of our website for the latest details on the appropriations process.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has announced it will hold a series of educational teleconferences to help health providers understand the specifics of the Medicare and Medicaid health information technology (HIT) incentive programs. These incentive programs will offer payments to eligible providers and hospitals for the adoption and “meaningful use” of HIT.
The teleconferences will allow you to hear from the agency staff that wrote the rules and ask them your questions about the incentive payments directly. By participating in the calls, you will learn who is eligible, how much the incentives are and how they are calculated, what you need to do to get started, when the program begins and other major milestones regarding participation and payment, how to report on Meaningful Use measures, and where to find helpful resources.
Save the date in your calendars for the following teleconferences:
- Tuesday, August 10, 2010, 2:00-3:30 pm EDT: EHR Incentive Programs for Eligible Professionals: a session just for individual practitioners on the specifics about the Medicare & Medicaid EHR incentive program
- Wednesday, August 11, 2010, 2:00-3:30 pm EDT: EHR Incentive Programs for Hospitals: A session just for hospitals on the specifics about the Medicare & Medicaid EHR incentive program
- Thursday, August 12, 2010, 2:00-3:30 pm EDT: EHR Questions and Answers for Hospitals and Individual Practitioners: Have an opportunity to ask a question and hear answers.
Registration information and the materials for each call will be posted on the CMS website.
The Enhanced Access and Retention Quality Improvement Initiative is a program coordinated by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare with the goal of developing ways in which patients can be cared for more efficiently and effectively through process improvements. In April of 2009, the 10 community behavioral health organizations (CBHOs) in the Initiative shared lessons learned, leading to a compilation of best practices for administrative and clinical processes that lead to improved therapy adherence and continuity of care. These strategies are now available in a report from the Initiative. By primarily focusing their efforts on three core areas: 1) organizational leadership, 2) data-driven decision-making, and 3) strategies to sustain changes, the CBHOs had a clear impact on client access to care, faster entrance into care, engagement in services and retention. Click here to view the full report and learn about participants’ successful strategies for improving therapy adherence.
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:
- Live webchat with David Lloyd on how to meet access-to-care performance standards
- Grants Available to States to Begin Establishing Health Insurance Exchanges; HHS Requests Public Comment on Standards
- NCSL Resource Offers Helpful List of State-level Components of Reform Implementation
- Report Outlines Lessons Learned from States’ Experiences Covering Low-Income Adults, Including Enrollment Strategies
- And much more!
