August 6, 2009

Over 400 Advocates Respond to National Council Action Alert on Parity; It's not too Late to Act!

Healthcare Reform Legislation Passed by Energy and Commerce Committee; Next Stop: The Rules Committee

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Increase Funding for the SAPT Block Grant and Integration Grants as Bill Moves to Senate Floor 

Section 8 Voucher Reform Act Approved by House Committee Would Expand Program; Must Now be Debated by Full House 

Resources from the National Council 

Over 400 Advocates Respond to National Council Action Alert on Parity; It's not too Late to Act!

Over 400 members and advocates responded to a National Council action alert asking Senators to sign onto a Dear Colleague Letter which will be sent to the secretaries of the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury requiring them to complete the mental health and addiction treatment parity regulations.  The letter, sponsored by Senators Al Franken (D-MN), Edward M. Kennedy (D-MA), Jack Reed (D-RI), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), also insists the departments take the concerns expressed by the mental health and addiction treatment community in response to the request for information (RFI) into consideration when drafting the regulations.  The parity regulations are the next step in the implementation of the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 which was passed on October 3, 2008.  The Act will go into effect on January 1, 2010 for most insurance plans whether regulations have been completed or not.  It is essential the regulations are issued to avoid misinterpretation of the law and to ensure access to critical mental health and addiction services. 

The National Council thanks those that have responded to our action alert already. If you would like to get involved but have not written your Senators, it's not too late; Senators can sign onto the Dear Colleague letter until 5:00 pm est TODAY!  Act now!

Sign up to receive the National Council's Action Alerts today to learn when your advocacy efforts are needed most.

Healthcare Reform Legislation Passed by Energy and Commerce Committee; Next Stop: The Rules Committee

The Energy and Commerce Committee worked diligently last week to ensure the Affordable Health Choice Act (HR 3200) was approved before leaving for the August Recess.  The Energy and Commerce Committee version of healthcare reform includes several amendments that would impact mental health and addiction treatment if included in the final bill:

• Engel/Matsui Amendment would create a federal definition of Federally Qualified Behavioral Health Centers (FQBHCs)
• Murphy Amendment would temporarily suspend Medicaid benefits instead of revoking them for individuals upon release from public juvenile facilities
• Baldwin Amendment would clarify the rules on Medicaid reimbursement for therapeutic foster care (TFC)
• Matsui Amendment would extend the delay in managed care provider tax elimination to October 1, 2010 
• Murphy-Green Amendment would include substance use disorders in interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training program grants 
• Pallone Amendment would include the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act, which would create a voluntary national disability insurance program

The three House committees with jurisdiction over healthcare reform, Energy and Commerce, Education and Labor and Ways and Means, each approved healthcare reform legislation that differed from each other.  The House Rules Committee is now responsible for combining and reconciling the three pieces of legislation into one piece of legislation that will go to the House floor for debate.  The full House will consider healthcare reform legislation after the August recess.

The Senate Finance Committee recently announced that it will not release its healthcare reform legislation until September 15, 2009.  Once the bill is passed out of the Finance Committee, it must then be reconciled with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee before it goes to the full Senate for debate.  The National Council has created talking points on healthcare reform for individuals who have the chance to meet with their Members of Congress or staff over the August Recess.  To learn if your Member of Congress is holding a town hall meeting during the August Recess, send an email to Christina Hammond.

For more information on healthcare reform view the National Council's Healthcare Reform Update Webinar presentation from August 5, 2009 and make sure to sign up for the August 19, September 9, and September 23 Healthcare Reform Webinars to keep up with the latest information.

Stay tuned to the Public Policy Update  and action alerts from the National Council to find out how you can get involved and help to ensure provisions, such as the Engel/Matsui amendment, remain in the final version of the Affordable Health Choices Act.

Senate Appropriations Committee Approves Increase Funding for the SAPT Block Grant and Integration Grants as Bill Moves to Senate Floor
 
On July 30th, the Senate Appropriations Committee approved its version of the Labor, Health and Human Services and Education bill (LHHS).  The LHHS bill must now be voted on by the full Senate.  It will then be reconciled with the House version in the Conference process. 

The LHHS bill passed by Senate Appropriations included a $40 million increase in allocated funds for the Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant (SAPTBG), the largest funding increase that the SAPTBG has seen in the last several years.  The Primary and Behavioral Health Care Integration Program received an additional $2 million in funding for a total of $9 million; this is $5 million less than the amount the House approved for the program.  Other notable increases approved by the Committee:

• Children and Families Program within the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) would receive a $10 million increase for "evidence-based adolescent substance abuse treatment" to bring total funding to $30.6 million.
• "Treatment Drug Courts" within CSAT would receive a $20 million increase with $5 million specifically targeted at "families affected by methamphetamine abuse" for a total budget of $48 million.
• "Ex-offender Re-entry" Programs within CSAT would receive a $10 million increase to bring the total funding to $18 million. 

Unlike the House bill, the Senate version does not include language to lift the ban on federal funding for needle-exchange programs. The House approved provision would instead maintain a prohibition against "any federally funded needle exchange programs from being located within 1,000 feet of certain facilities that serve children, such as schools and parks." 

For the latest information on the federal appropriations visit the National Council's Federal Budget Webpage.

Section 8 Voucher Reform Act Approved by House Committee Would Expand Program; Must Now be Debated by Full House

On July 23, 2009, the House Financial Services Committee approved the Section 8 Vouch Reform Act of 2009 (HR 3045), which was introduced by Rep. Maxine Walters (D-CA) on June 25, 2009.  The bill would reform the Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher Program, which provides rental housing assistance to 2 million low-income families nationwide.  H.R. 3045 would establish a stable, fair and cost-effective funding system for the Section 8 program and would ensure that no tenant is ever at risk of losing housing assistance due to unexpected budget shortfalls.  It would also restore previous assistance levels by authorizing 150,000 new vouchers.  Additionally, HR 3045 would change the application screening process to allow individuals who are in treatment for documented chronic abuse of alcohol to be eligible for vouchers.  Also, an applicant could not be denied a voucher due to a felony conviction if it did not occur in the previous five years or a misdemeanor conviction unless such denial is based on a pattern of activity. 

The National Council supports the expansion of the Section 8 Voucher program and the clarification of who is eligible to receive the vouchers.  Previously the National Council submitted comments to the Department of Housing and Urban Development in support of these ideas. To learn more about housing issues visit the National Council's Employment & Housing Webpage.
 

Resources from the National Council

The National Council's website is frequently updated with issue briefs, letters, and other materials of interest to members. Please take notice of these recent updates:

NEW Healthcare Reform Talking Points for the August Recess

NEW Amendments accepted by the Energy and Commerce Committee that relate to mental illness and addiction treatment:

• Engel/Matsui Amendment would create a federal definition of Federally Qualified Behavioral Health Centers (FQBHCs)
• Murphy Amendment would temporarily suspend Medicaid benefits instead of revoking them for individuals upon release from public juvenile facilities
• Baldwin Amendment would clarify the rules on Medicaid reimbursement for therapeutic foster care (TFC)
• Matsui Amendment would extend the delay in managed care provider tax elimination to October 1, 2010
• Murphy-Green Amendment would include substance use disorders in interdisciplinary mental and behavioral health training program grants
• Pallone Amendment would include the Community Living Assistance Services and Support (CLASS) Act, which would create a voluntary national disability insurance program

National Council released an updated FY 2010 Budget Chart to reflect the appropriations levels reflected in the House Labor, Health and Human Services and Education Appropriations bill.

The National Council signed onto a Letter of Support to lift the ban on federal funds being used for syringe exchange programs.

View the National Council healthcare reform update webinar series presentations and recordings on the National Council's website.

The National Council sent a thank you letter to Sen. Kennedy for his efforts on healthcare reform with the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee.

The National Council sent a Letter of Support  to Senator Reed in favor of his amendment to include $50 million in co-location grants in the Affordable Health Choices Act.

The National Council signed onto a Letter of Support in favor of increasing the alcohol excise tax to help pay for healthcare reform.

The National Council signed onto a Letter of Support  in favor of the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Act of 2009.

The National Council submitted comments as part of the CCD on HUDS's Notice of Funding Availability on Section 8 rental assistance.

Please contact Chuck Ingoglia, Vice President, Public Policy, with federal policy questions.

The Public Policy Update is a weekly e-newsletter published by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare. Managing Editor - Christina Hammond. Vice President, Public Policy - Chuck Ingoglia. Director of Practice Improvement - Chris Loftis. Director of Public Policy - Alexa Eggleston. Director of Policy and Advocacy - Laura Galbreath. Mohini Venkatesh-Director of Federal & State Policy.