HHS Launches Healthy People 2020 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Congress this week continued its work on the fiscal year 2011 budget and legislation to extend the Bush-era tax cuts. On Wednesday, the House voted to pass a year-long continuing resolution (CR) that would keep the government running at the same total level of funding as in FY 2010, which is $45.9 billion less than President Obama’s request. However, within the total of $1.09 trillion, the CR shifts billions of dollars of funds to help make up for a shortfall in the federal student loan program, provide additional funding for veterans’ medical needs, and more. Meanwhile, Senate appropriators are drafting an omnibus budget bill that would combine all 12 of this year’s federal spending bills into one large package. The Senate package will likely score a cost of $1.108 trillion, and unlike the House CR, would include earmarks. Congress must take action on the budget before Dec. 18, when the continuing resolution that is currently funding the government expires.

 

In the midst of budget negotiations, Congress and the White House are also working to pass legislation that would extend certain tax cuts from President George W. Bush’s administration. President Obama announced a deal with congressional leaders to extend the cuts and at the same time enact a 13-month continuation of unemployment benefits. However, he is facing pushback from Democrats who oppose extending the cuts for the wealthiest Americans. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said he would like to see the legislation come to the Senate floor this week, but it is unclear whether the compromise will be ready for a vote by that time.

 

 

 

On Tuesday, November 30, President Obama signed into law the Physician Payment and Therapy Relief Act of 2010. This law forestalls for one month a 23% cut to Medicare reimbursement rates that otherwise would have gone into effect on Dec. 1. 

 

Congress has now turned to finding a longer-term solution to the payment formula that requires yearly legislative action to prevent automatic reimbursement cuts from taking place. The Senate this week announced it has reached a deal on a one-year fix that would extend current payment rates through the end of 2011, to be paid for through an adjustment to the health reform law. This proposal would raise the cap on the required repayments that people must make if they receive a health insurance subsidy that is greater than the amount for which they are eligible. The $19.2 billion expected to be saved from this change would cover the one-year extension of the Medicare payment rates.

 

 

 

In our ongoing federal regulatory work, the National Council has recently submitted comments to several federal agencies and other entities on several topics of interest to community behavioral health providers:

 

Essential Health Benefits Package: The Institutes of Medicine (IOM) has been tasked with establishing procedures for evaluating which health services should be included in the essential benefits package enacted under health reform. In the preliminary stages of this project, IOM has requested public feedback on how the word “essential” should be interpreted, how “medical necessity” should be defined, and the advantages or disadvantages of current methods for determining the details of benefits packages. The National Council’s comments stress the importance of including a broad range of substance use disorder and mental health benefits in any calculation of essential benefits. Read our comments here.

 

Social Security Disability Determinations: After receiving much feedback about its proposed use of standardized tests in establishing disability determinations, the Social Security Administration (SSA) has issued a regulation clarifying its intent in revising the medical criteria for evaluating mental disorders. The National Council’s comments commend SSA for its willingness to revisit this issue and reiterate our concerns about the use of standardized tests as valid measures of disability. Read our comments here.

 

Proposed Restructuring of NIH Substance Abuse Portfolio: The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is considering a proposed reorganization that would create a new NIH Institute focusing on substance use, abuse, and addiction research and related public health initiatives. The National Council has signed on to a letter by the American Psychological Association expressing concerns about the impact this move might have on the allocation of resources for substance use, abuse and addiction research and offering suggestions for ensuring the success of any potential reorganization. Read our letter here. 

 

Medicare Model Guidelines and Access to Medications: The United States Pharmacopeia (USC) has recently issued draft model guidelines for approval of prescription drugs in Medicare. The National Council has signed on to comments by the Medicare Access for Patients Rx (MAPRx) Coalition expressing concerns about the proposed triennial review process, limiting drug placement to a single category or class, and the need for greater coordination of policy between USP and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services regarding the use of Formulary Key Drug Types. The comments focus on the need to protect patient access to medications. Read our comments here.

 

 

 

On Dec. 2, the Department of Health and Human Services launched Healthy People 2020, a 10-year agenda for improving the nation’s health. Healthy People 2020 continues a 3-decades long health promotion and disease prevention effort. The agenda for Healthy People 2020 was developed with input from diverse groups of individuals and organizations. Several of the goals included in Healthy People 2020 address behavioral health, and Healthy People 2020 has identified access to health services, disability and health, mental health, and substance use as topics of focus for its agenda. Examples of specific objectives for 2020 include increasing depression screening by primary care providers, increasing the proportion of adults with mental disorders or co-occurring disorders who receive treatment, and much more.

 

Healthy People 2020 encourages provider organizations to be part of the Healthy People Consortium and use collaborative approaches to improving prevention and treatment. Additional details are available on the Healthy People 2020 website.

 

 

 

The National Council is pleased to solicit nominations for the 2011 class of the Psychiatric Leadership Development Program. Selected participants will join a yearlong learning community of 8 to 10 emerging community psychiatric leaders currently working in community behavioral health organizations. There is no cost to participants or their organizations.

 

The Psychiatric Leadership Program began in 2008 in response to the challenges of recruiting a psychiatric workforce to behavioral healthcare organizations and providing adequate professional growth opportunities to retain them. To date, 25 community psychiatrists have completed the program; with the graduation of the current class in May of 2011, the pool of alumni will increase to 35. Visit the National Council’s website to see video testimonials from the current class. 

 

The curriculum and mentorship is designed to engage participants as members of their organization's executive leadership team. Participants engage in didactic, experience-based, and distance learning opportunities; learn from nationally recognized leaders in the areas of policy, financing and service delivery; utilize case-based learning projects; and for one year receive ongoing mentoring and support from national leadership and quality improvement experts. In addition, through the use of web technology, participants have the opportunity to engage in peer-to-peer learning from alumni and current participants in the program. Additional details and information about how to apply for the program are available on the National Council’s website.

 

 

 

On Thursday, December 16 at 2:00 p.m. eastern, the National Council will hold a webinar on the federal health information technology (HIT) incentive payments that were enacted under the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009. As the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services prepares to roll out this program in early 2011, you need to understand expectations for providers who wish to participate. Join us for this National Council LIVE webinar to learn about:

The webinar will be presented by Ann Boughtin, a principal of Boughtin and Orndoff Consulting, and Amy Machtay, a leading authority on meaningful use and the ARRA incentives. Additional details and registration are available online.  

 

 

 

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: