Over the last several weeks, the Joint Select Committee on Deficit Reduction (also known as the “Supercommittee”) has continued to hold its negotiations behind closed doors, leaving healthcare advocates with few clues as to where the committee’s $1.2 trillion in budget cuts might fall. Concern is rising that these cuts could fall heavily on Medicaid or other programs that support community mental health and addictions treatment. 

 

With the Supercommittee still debating options for deficit reduction, right now we have a window of opportunity to influence the outcome of their negotiations. The National Council has drafted a letter to the Supercommittee asking them not to cut Medicaid, restructure it into a block grant, or take any other actions that would strip funding from the program. 

 

Please lend your voice to the fight for Medicaid by signing on to this letter today. Together, our signatures will show Congress the nation’s strong support for preserving the behavioral health safety net. You can sign as an organization or as an individual. The deadline for signatures is October 28, 2011.

 

If you’ve already signed on to the letter and are looking for more ways to make your voice heard, the National Council encourages you to write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper. Members of Congress monitor local media to get the pulse of public opinion in their districts, and your letter to the editor can help sway opinions.

 

The National Council has drafted two templates for a Letter to the Editor that you can personalize for your community. Whether this is your first time writing a letter to the editor, or if your letters are published on a weekly basis, the process is simple:

 

Thank you for your tireless advocacy on behalf of Medicaid and the behavioral health safety net.

 

 

 

After extensive review of the public comments submitted in response to its initial proposed rule on establishing accountable care organizations (ACOs), the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services has released a revised final version of the rule. The new ACO rule, issued today, outlines the requirements for participation in the new Medicare Shared Savings Program and details the necessary design components for ACOs to participate in the program. 

 

An ACO is a coordinated group of healthcare providers and organizations that accepts responsibility for providing or ensuring access to all needed healthcare services for the individuals within its community. The Affordable Care Act of 2010 provided for new payment arrangements for ACOs in Medicare that allows them to profit from reducing costs and improving quality of care.

 

The final ACO rule includes several important changes from the original proposal. Among other changes, it switched the beneficiary assignment process from retrospective to prospective, reduced the number of quality measures providers are required to report, established a rolling admissions process, and more. The National Council is undertaking a review of the 700-page rule and will keep behavioral health providers informed as to the provisions of most importance for our field.

 

Click to read the CMS fact sheet on the new ACO rule. The full text of the rule is available here until Nov. 2; on that date it will be published in the Federal Register. 

 

 

 

On October 14, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services announced two new preventive benefits for Medicare beneficiaries: annual screening for depression as well as alcohol misuse screening and behavioral counseling.

 

Annual screening for depression for Medicare beneficiaries is now covered in primary care settings that have staff resources to follow up with appropriate treatment and referrals. The purpose of this screening is to assure accurate diagnosis, effective treatment and follow-up. Annual alcohol misuse screening by primary care providers, such as a beneficiary’s family practice physician, internal medicine physician, or nurse practitioner, in settings such as physicians’ offices are covered under CMS’ new policies. The benefit also includes four behavioral counseling sessions per year furnished by the primary care provider, if beneficiaries screen positive for alcohol misuse.

 

CMS had previously requested public comments on the new coverage proposals. The National Council’s comments urged CMS to strengthen the proposal by expanding the types of providers who may provide counseling, to include licensed behavioral health providers working in primary care. However, the final CMS decision did not incorporate these comments.

 

The coverage decisions on alcohol misuse screening and depression screening are available online.

 

 

 

After 19 months of work examining how to structure the voluntary long-term care insurance program enacted under health reform, the Obama Administration has decided to halt its implementation. Secretary Kathleen Sibelius of the Department of Health and Human Services said in a statement that HHS could not find a way to make the Community Living Assistance Services and Supports Act (CLASS Act) financially viable over the 75 years required by the law, while still meeting the benefits requirements laid out in statute. The central problem with the CLASS Act arose from its nature as a completely voluntary and self financing program, which would be supported only through participating employees’ optional payroll deductions. HHS reported that these fiscal pressures made it impossible to fully fund the benefits required under the law.

 

Although HHS stated that it did not wish to repeal the CLASS Act, it did not offer solutions for reforming the program or providing alternative options for reforming the U.S. long-term care system. Secretary Sibelius said that she hoped the information gathered during the agencies’ efforts on CLASS could be used to develop other affordable and sustainable long-term care options.

 

The decision has provided fodder for critics of the health reform law, as the first instance in which the Administration has backed away from one of the components of its signature legislation. 

 

 

 

ADHD (attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder) is a serious public health issue, affecting 9.5% of children and 4% of adults in the U.S. This year, ADHD Awareness Week is October 16-22. The mission of ADHD Awareness Week is to educate the public about ADHD by disseminating reliable information based on the evidence of science and peer-reviewed research. The National Council is a Supporter of ADHD Awareness Week.

 

Looking for ways to increase awareness about ADHD in your community? The ADHD Awareness Week partners have made many resources available on their website, including: 7 Facts about ADHD  and the 2011 ADHD Awareness Poster.

 

Additional ADHD resources are available from SAMHSA: