National Council Responds to HHS’ Strategic Framework for Optimum Health and Quality of Life for Individuals with Multiple Chronic Conditions 

 

 

 

 

 

On June 30, nearly 500 behavioral health providers, consumers, and community stakeholders met with their Members of Congress to discuss policy issues of crucial importance for the behavioral health community. One of our requests was for legislators to co-sponsor the Health IT Extension for Behavioral Health Services Act of 2010 (H.R. 5040), originally introduced by Reps. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) and Tim Murphy (R-PA). Since last Wednesday’s meetings, 13 additional co-sponsors have signed on, bringing the total to 48 co-sponsors. In addition, three Representatives attended a congressional briefing held on June 30th in conjunction with Hill Day, “Health Information Technology and the Behavioral Health and Substance Use Provider.” Representatives Kennedy, Murphy, and Grace Napolitano (D-CA), spoke to the importance of fully incorporating behavioral health providers into federal HIT initiatives.

 

The National Council commends our Hill Day attendees for your strong advocacy in support of behavioral health IT. For those who were unable to attend Hill Day, it’s not too late to make your voice heard! Click here to send a message to your legislators in support of H.R. 5040. For more information about behavioral health IT, see our fact sheet on this issue. 

 

 

 

Last week, nearly 500 behavioral health advocates gathered in Washington for Hill Day – a compelling demonstration of member power and by any measure, a huge success. 

 

Before last week’s memories fade, please take a moment to fill out an online evaluation form. Your feedback will help us know which legislators we need to follow up with and will provide us with valuable input as we plan for Hill Day 2011. If you’d prefer to complete the paper evaluation (found in your blue folder), please return the completed form to Rebecca Farley by email (rebeccaf@thenationalcouncil.org), fax (202-386-9391), or mail (1701 K St. NW, Suite 400, Washington DC 20006).

 

Additionally, we have put together a sample email that you can use to follow up with the congressional offices you visited. Feel free to personalize your message to reflect the issues you discussed during your meetings!

 

New resources and information are now available on the Hill Day website, including a photo gallery of last week’s most memorable moments and the PowerPoint presentations from Tuesday’s Policy Institute sessions.

 

 

 

Congress left town for its July 4th recess without taking action on an extension of enhanced federal assistance for state Medicaid programs. The extension, known as FMAP, was originally included in a larger package of job creation and tax credit measures, but rising concerns over the federal deficit have stalled the bill at multiple stages throughout the legislative process. The FMAP bill is currently in the Senate, where despite offering several different versions of the bill, each with a lower cost and a smaller impact on the deficit than the last, the Senate leadership has been unable to muster the 60 votes needed for passage of the measure. The House and Senate have opted to pursue a strategy of breaking off portions of the larger jobs bill and passing them individually. However, it is currently unclear whether the FMAP extension can garner 60 votes as a stand-alone piece of legislation. 

 

Meanwhile, the National Governors Association has ramped up its lobbying in support of the FMAP extension. 28 states are counting on the extra federal money in their FY11 budgets and will have to close hundreds of millions of dollars in budget gaps if the funding does not come through. For additional information on how each state will be affected, see this summary and state-by-state chart from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

 

The FMAP extension was one of the National Council’s priorities during last week’s Hill Day. Our fact sheet on the FMAP extension is available online; for more information, visit the Economic Recovery page of our website.

 

 

 

On July 1st, the House Appropriations Committee offered its revisions to the FY 2011 Transportation/Housing and Urban Development (T-HUD) appropriations bill. The full details of the bill are not yet available; however, it includes increases for several key programs:

These proposed increases are an important milestone in a year when Congress has increasingly focused on reducing federal spending. Stay tuned to the Public Policy Update for the latest appropriations news.

 

 

 

On Wednesday, President Obama used his recess appointment power to appoint Dr. Donald Berwick as the Administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. This approach allows Berwick to take control of the agency without Senate confirmation while the chamber is in recess; however, recess appointments expire at the end of the following calendar year, meaning that Berwick’s nomination would have to go before the Senate at the end of 2011. In announcing Berwick’s appointment, the Obama Administration cited the importance of filling the crucial CMS post during the rollout of the recently enacted healthcare reform law.

 

Dr. Berwick has served as President and CEO of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and is a professor at Harvard Medical School and the Harvard School of Public Health. He is also a pediatrician, adjunct staff in the Department of Medicine at Boston’s Children’s Hospital and a consultant in pediatrics at Massachusetts General Hospital. He has served as Chair of the National Advisory Council of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, and as an elected member of the Institute of Medicine (IOM). Dr. Berwick served on the IOM’s governing Council from 2002 to 2007. In 1997 and 1998, he was appointed by President Clinton to serve on the Advisory Commission on Consumer Protection and Quality in the Healthcare Industry. 

 

 

 

In May, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a draft of a strategic framework for improving the health status of individuals with multiple chronic conditions (MCC). The document is designed to facilitate an exchange of ideas among the HHS and other federal agencies concerning individuals with MCC; it includes goals, objectives, and discrete strategies to guide HHS in coordinating its efforts internally and in collaborating with stakeholders. 

 

In the introduction to the framework, HHS wrote that its intent for the framework is “to change the context of how chronic illnesses are addressed – from one focused on individual chronic diseases silos to one that utilizes a multiple chronic conditions approach. It is this culture change, or paradigm shift, and the subsequent implementation of these strategies that will provide a foundation for realizing optimum health and quality of life for individuals with multiple chronic conditions.” 

 

The National Council commends HHS for its efforts to assist individuals with multiple chronic disorders. Because mental illnesses and substance use disorders frequently co-occur with other physical chronic conditions, the National Council has submitted comments on the framework encouraging HHS to consider individuals with these conditions when: 

You can read the National Council’s response to the strategic framework online. Stay tuned to the Public Policy Update for future updates on this issue.

 

 

 

 

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) standards for Patient Centered Medical Homes (PCMH) are the most well-known approach to recognizing physician practices that function as patient centered medical homes (PCMH). The PCMH is a model of health care delivery that aims to improve the quality and efficiency of care by increasing access to more efficient and coordinated care. Discussion of primary and behavioral health integration have predominately taken place outside of discussions about the patient-centered medical home.  Last week, the National Council responded to NCQA’s call for public comment on proposed standards for the next version of its Patient-Centered Medical Home standards. The proposed changes promote patient-centered care and performance benchmarking within practices and encourage better coordination and integration with behavioral health. Click here to read our comments on the proposed standards.

 

 

 

The National Council invites you to join us for the next webinar in our Healthcare Reform Implementation series, “Enhancing Mental Health and Addictions Treatment Capacity.” The webinar, featuring presenters David Lloyd of MTM Services and Sandy Myers of Coleman Professional Services, will take place on Tues., July 13th at 12:30 pm eastern time. 

 

With the onset of parity and healthcare reform implementation, community behavioral health organizations will have to meet significant increase in demand and work within new integrated service delivery models. To survive and benefit from these new models, providers must be able to provide timely access to treatment and demonstrate measurable outcomes such as improved functionality for persons served. This webinar will review how organizations have used level of care and utilization reviews to ensure that the right services are being delivered at the right time to the right patients. David Lloyd will provide samples of benefit designs that many community behavioral health providers have used for treatment planning, scheduling services, and utilization management reviews to develop the capacity to serve new clients. Sandy Myers will provide a case study of how her organization has integrated a level of care clinical guidance model to measure appropriate utilization levels. Registration for the webinar is available online.