Letters from the CEO: September 2006
Dear Member:
Hoping your summer was pleasant although I'm sure it was as busy as the summer here at the National Council. In this accelerated information world the pace only increases and we all struggle to improve how we learn, how we manage, and how we lead.
Since August of 2004 when I became CEO of the National Council, you've been getting my email letters. They're a personal way to keep you up to date on our activities, to share my perspectives on issues, and to encourage a dialogue.
In addition to my letter, the National Council has developed an array of communications, including: a weekly public policy update e-newsletter, a monthly technical assistance e-newsletter, the bi-monthly National Council News (in print) devoted to fuller coverage of critical policy and practice issues, meet me calls, a member listserve, and most recently issue-specific surveys and quick web-based polls.
Now, we're planning to add a more public communication vehicle, a National Council blog that will go live later this fall. A few weeks ago the business section of Sunday's New York Times ran an article, "All the Internet's a Stage, Why Don't CEOs Use It?" The NYT reported that of the Fortune 500 CEOs, only one - Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems - blogs. Mr. Schwartz predicts that having a blog won't be a matter of choice, anymore than email is today.
The National Council views the NYT article as a challenge. Although mental health and addictions treatment organizations aren't Fortune 500 companies, they have much to say about the health of the nation. Our membership has a vital role to play as mental illnesses and addiction disorders move front and center in any discussion of healthcare. National Council member organizations are at the intersection of research, policy, practice, and recovery and there is no group in a better position to weigh in about the realities of behavioral healthcare.
Results of Member Benefits Quick Poll
In my last letter, I encouraged you to go to the National Council website to complete the Member Benefits Quick Poll so you could rate the value of our communications. Getting your feedback is vital to improving the content and usefulness of the information we provide, so a very heartfelt thanks to those of you that responded to the poll.
The results of the Member Benefits Quick Poll are available at www.nccbh.org/SERVICE/polls.htm. The ratings were generally high, but as with all surveys of satisfaction, the real news is with those respondents who rated our communications less useful. And we will follow up with those members to better understand how to improve our services.
Please watch our website for future Quick Polls on other topics (we currently have a poll on the Electronic Health Record).
Survey results: hidden costs of implementing Medicare Part D
In addition to the Member Benefits Quick Poll, we recently asked you to give us information on your Medicare Part D implementation costs.
The survey findings are powerful. In twelve months (July 2005 ? June 2006), community behavioral health providers collectively invested $304 million in implementing Part D. We have used this information to successfully advocate for House and Senate appropriations report language directing CMS to allocate funding to community mental health providers for Part D education. Next we'll turn our attention to getting those funds to our members, overcoming the many obstacles that stand in the way.
The National Council appreciates the time you that took to respond to the survey (the respondents are listed at www.nccbh.org/MEDICARE/INDEX.HTM). Go to www.nccbh.org/MEDICARE/INDEX.HTM to read the detailed survey report; the National Council press release; and message points for use with your local media, policymakers, and other stakeholders. An article on the survey findings that appeared in Mental Health Weekly is also available here.
Cross-walking recovery and Medicaid
The National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery, the result of more than 20 papers and reports and input from hundreds of stakeholders, is available at www.mentalhealth.samsha.gov. National Council members are moving beyond these values and principles of recovery to the delivery of services that promote recovery, but there are challenges.
As in all of healthcare, even with the best available interventions and supports we will still fail some of those we serve and there are limits to our current knowledge. But what we must do is address the challenges that prevent us from adopting and applying the most effective available interventions. A glaring challenge is the absence of uniform standards of care. Population groups with like diagnoses and functioning levels continue to receive idiosyncratic treatments. We spend too much time tinkering with systems, pretending to contain costs or implementing popular rather than empirically sound treatment and rehabilitation interventions. The National Council is committed to making it easier for practitioners to do the right thing. And so, with support from SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services, we convened a small group of experts on the provision, documentation, and financing of psychiatric rehabilitation and community-based treatment services.
The group explored the challenges of providing quality services in an environment without standards of care or even common service definitions, an unevenly trained workforce, over-regulation with multiple reporting requirements, and the threat of increasingly rigorous CMS medical necessity audits. In response to these concerns, plans were made to develop common service definitions and codes and model benefit packages. We will be reaching out to you and with your assistance and the help of expert consultants, we'll create tools and templates that can move recovery from a widely accepted concept to a widespread reality.
Policy Action Center is up and running
The National Council's Policy Action Center is up and running. The center is a new member benefit designed to support coordination of federal and state advocacy. The center's primary goal is to engage National Council members and the network of state/regional associations in a coordinated effort at the state and national levels to preserve funding for mental health and addiction treatment services.
The National Council's federal advocacy is increasingly effective because of your efforts. Member visits to the Hill, letters, and telephone calls are producing results. Many of you responded to our suggestion that you invite your Congressional delegation to your agencies during the summer recess, and we have even received photos taken during those visits. Coordinating federal and state advocacy efforts can only enhance our ability to persuade and engage national policymakers, state legislatures, and governors on issues affecting access to services needed to treat mental illness and addictions. The issues include block grants, Medicare, Medicaid and state financing.
The Policy Action Center is available to provide members with needed policy background materials and assistance in conducting advocacy, including the analysis, synthesis, and dissemination of information generated by the National Institute of Mental Health and other organizations. The center also helps associations develop recommendations for financing policies to enhance the availability of services; supports associations in analyzing and responding to state Medicaid restructuring plans; provides information on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit and recommendations for the improvement of formulary practices; and increases knowledge of private sector payers - including Pharmacy Benefit Managers and other managed care entities - operating in the public sector.
The Policy Action Center contracts with a legislative and regulatory tracking service to provide comparative information on state Medicaid policies directly to state/regional associations. The center is already working with leadership in a number of states facing restructuring of Medicaid benefits under the flexibility of the Deficit Reduction Act. Policy meetings are being held in states with provider advocates and with state advocacy coalitions to facilitate and support their efforts.
We hope you take advantage of the Policy Action Center and the expertise of National Council policy staff. I'm very pleased and proud of the progress we're making in strengthening the voice of provider organizations. I encourage you to support all of the national associations that advocate on your behalf and on behalf of those you serve, but the National Council staff and I are determined to be the very best and to invest your support in us most wisely.
Nurturing policy partners across addictions and mental health
The National Council is working hard to be a good partner to other advocacy groups. We've recently been elected to the Board of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform. And I believe we're viewed as focused on an agenda that represents our members but also as understanding the needs and points of view of other groups. In representing our members and those you serve, we are reaching out beyond the mental health advocacy community to the addictions treatment community.
There are very few, if any, national associations that are bridging what at times appears to be a chasm between the two disability communities. We believe the National Council can be that bridge. To facilitate our efforts we are entering into a partnership with the State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) with the goals of strengthening the National Council's addictions treatment advocacy efforts and enhancing collaboration between our two organizations and with others in the addictions field.
You'll be hearing more about our relationship with SAAS in future letters from me as well as in our weekly public policy updates and at our public policy meetings. You'll also be hearing more about the work we're doing with the addictions advocacy community on new legislation cosponsored by Representatives Kennedy and Ramstad. The legislation addresses treatment, regulatory and financing recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine's report that applies Crossing the Quality Chasm to Mental Health and Substance Use.
Premature deaths of adults with serious mental illness
The National Council is a leader in examining the coordination of health services. Our newest paper, "Finance, Policy, and Integration of Services," prepared by our consultant, Barbara Mauer, discusses the current status of financing and policy support for coordinated behavioral health and primary care services. Find the paper and other resources at www.nccbh.org/WHO/INDUSTRY/PCI.HTM.
The next issue of our print newsletter, National Council News, will focus on behavioral health and primary care coordination, bringing you the perspectives of experts and the experiences of provider organizations operating coordination initiatives.
NC News is no longer a monthly tabloid focused on industry updates as the Internet allows breaking news to be reported immediately. NC News is now theme-based and designed to serve as a practice resource by more thoroughly exploring a single topic.
The upcoming NC News on coordination features an article by Ron Manderscheid, reporting on findings that public mental health consumers die 25 years younger than the general population. What do these shocking findings on premature death imply for community behavioral health organizations? Learn more in the next NC News, which will be available late September.
As always, I welcome your feedback at LindaR@nccbh.org or call me at 301.984.6200, ext. 227.
Best regards,
Linda
Hoping your summer was pleasant although I'm sure it was as busy as the summer here at the National Council. In this accelerated information world the pace only increases and we all struggle to improve how we learn, how we manage, and how we lead.
Since August of 2004 when I became CEO of the National Council, you've been getting my email letters. They're a personal way to keep you up to date on our activities, to share my perspectives on issues, and to encourage a dialogue.
In addition to my letter, the National Council has developed an array of communications, including: a weekly public policy update e-newsletter, a monthly technical assistance e-newsletter, the bi-monthly National Council News (in print) devoted to fuller coverage of critical policy and practice issues, meet me calls, a member listserve, and most recently issue-specific surveys and quick web-based polls.
Now, we're planning to add a more public communication vehicle, a National Council blog that will go live later this fall. A few weeks ago the business section of Sunday's New York Times ran an article, "All the Internet's a Stage, Why Don't CEOs Use It?" The NYT reported that of the Fortune 500 CEOs, only one - Jonathan Schwartz, CEO of Sun Microsystems - blogs. Mr. Schwartz predicts that having a blog won't be a matter of choice, anymore than email is today.
The National Council views the NYT article as a challenge. Although mental health and addictions treatment organizations aren't Fortune 500 companies, they have much to say about the health of the nation. Our membership has a vital role to play as mental illnesses and addiction disorders move front and center in any discussion of healthcare. National Council member organizations are at the intersection of research, policy, practice, and recovery and there is no group in a better position to weigh in about the realities of behavioral healthcare.
Results of Member Benefits Quick Poll
In my last letter, I encouraged you to go to the National Council website to complete the Member Benefits Quick Poll so you could rate the value of our communications. Getting your feedback is vital to improving the content and usefulness of the information we provide, so a very heartfelt thanks to those of you that responded to the poll.
The results of the Member Benefits Quick Poll are available at www.nccbh.org/SERVICE/polls.htm. The ratings were generally high, but as with all surveys of satisfaction, the real news is with those respondents who rated our communications less useful. And we will follow up with those members to better understand how to improve our services.
Please watch our website for future Quick Polls on other topics (we currently have a poll on the Electronic Health Record).
Survey results: hidden costs of implementing Medicare Part D
In addition to the Member Benefits Quick Poll, we recently asked you to give us information on your Medicare Part D implementation costs.
The survey findings are powerful. In twelve months (July 2005 ? June 2006), community behavioral health providers collectively invested $304 million in implementing Part D. We have used this information to successfully advocate for House and Senate appropriations report language directing CMS to allocate funding to community mental health providers for Part D education. Next we'll turn our attention to getting those funds to our members, overcoming the many obstacles that stand in the way.
The National Council appreciates the time you that took to respond to the survey (the respondents are listed at www.nccbh.org/MEDICARE/INDEX.HTM). Go to www.nccbh.org/MEDICARE/INDEX.HTM to read the detailed survey report; the National Council press release; and message points for use with your local media, policymakers, and other stakeholders. An article on the survey findings that appeared in Mental Health Weekly is also available here.
Cross-walking recovery and Medicaid
The National Consensus Statement on Mental Health Recovery, the result of more than 20 papers and reports and input from hundreds of stakeholders, is available at www.mentalhealth.samsha.gov. National Council members are moving beyond these values and principles of recovery to the delivery of services that promote recovery, but there are challenges.
As in all of healthcare, even with the best available interventions and supports we will still fail some of those we serve and there are limits to our current knowledge. But what we must do is address the challenges that prevent us from adopting and applying the most effective available interventions. A glaring challenge is the absence of uniform standards of care. Population groups with like diagnoses and functioning levels continue to receive idiosyncratic treatments. We spend too much time tinkering with systems, pretending to contain costs or implementing popular rather than empirically sound treatment and rehabilitation interventions. The National Council is committed to making it easier for practitioners to do the right thing. And so, with support from SAMHSA's Center for Mental Health Services, we convened a small group of experts on the provision, documentation, and financing of psychiatric rehabilitation and community-based treatment services.
The group explored the challenges of providing quality services in an environment without standards of care or even common service definitions, an unevenly trained workforce, over-regulation with multiple reporting requirements, and the threat of increasingly rigorous CMS medical necessity audits. In response to these concerns, plans were made to develop common service definitions and codes and model benefit packages. We will be reaching out to you and with your assistance and the help of expert consultants, we'll create tools and templates that can move recovery from a widely accepted concept to a widespread reality.
Policy Action Center is up and running
The National Council's Policy Action Center is up and running. The center is a new member benefit designed to support coordination of federal and state advocacy. The center's primary goal is to engage National Council members and the network of state/regional associations in a coordinated effort at the state and national levels to preserve funding for mental health and addiction treatment services.
The National Council's federal advocacy is increasingly effective because of your efforts. Member visits to the Hill, letters, and telephone calls are producing results. Many of you responded to our suggestion that you invite your Congressional delegation to your agencies during the summer recess, and we have even received photos taken during those visits. Coordinating federal and state advocacy efforts can only enhance our ability to persuade and engage national policymakers, state legislatures, and governors on issues affecting access to services needed to treat mental illness and addictions. The issues include block grants, Medicare, Medicaid and state financing.
The Policy Action Center is available to provide members with needed policy background materials and assistance in conducting advocacy, including the analysis, synthesis, and dissemination of information generated by the National Institute of Mental Health and other organizations. The center also helps associations develop recommendations for financing policies to enhance the availability of services; supports associations in analyzing and responding to state Medicaid restructuring plans; provides information on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit and recommendations for the improvement of formulary practices; and increases knowledge of private sector payers - including Pharmacy Benefit Managers and other managed care entities - operating in the public sector.
The Policy Action Center contracts with a legislative and regulatory tracking service to provide comparative information on state Medicaid policies directly to state/regional associations. The center is already working with leadership in a number of states facing restructuring of Medicaid benefits under the flexibility of the Deficit Reduction Act. Policy meetings are being held in states with provider advocates and with state advocacy coalitions to facilitate and support their efforts.
We hope you take advantage of the Policy Action Center and the expertise of National Council policy staff. I'm very pleased and proud of the progress we're making in strengthening the voice of provider organizations. I encourage you to support all of the national associations that advocate on your behalf and on behalf of those you serve, but the National Council staff and I are determined to be the very best and to invest your support in us most wisely.
Nurturing policy partners across addictions and mental health
The National Council is working hard to be a good partner to other advocacy groups. We've recently been elected to the Board of the Campaign for Mental Health Reform. And I believe we're viewed as focused on an agenda that represents our members but also as understanding the needs and points of view of other groups. In representing our members and those you serve, we are reaching out beyond the mental health advocacy community to the addictions treatment community.
There are very few, if any, national associations that are bridging what at times appears to be a chasm between the two disability communities. We believe the National Council can be that bridge. To facilitate our efforts we are entering into a partnership with the State Associations of Addiction Services (SAAS) with the goals of strengthening the National Council's addictions treatment advocacy efforts and enhancing collaboration between our two organizations and with others in the addictions field.
You'll be hearing more about our relationship with SAAS in future letters from me as well as in our weekly public policy updates and at our public policy meetings. You'll also be hearing more about the work we're doing with the addictions advocacy community on new legislation cosponsored by Representatives Kennedy and Ramstad. The legislation addresses treatment, regulatory and financing recommendations made in the Institute of Medicine's report that applies Crossing the Quality Chasm to Mental Health and Substance Use.
Premature deaths of adults with serious mental illness
The National Council is a leader in examining the coordination of health services. Our newest paper, "Finance, Policy, and Integration of Services," prepared by our consultant, Barbara Mauer, discusses the current status of financing and policy support for coordinated behavioral health and primary care services. Find the paper and other resources at www.nccbh.org/WHO/INDUSTRY/PCI.HTM.
The next issue of our print newsletter, National Council News, will focus on behavioral health and primary care coordination, bringing you the perspectives of experts and the experiences of provider organizations operating coordination initiatives.
NC News is no longer a monthly tabloid focused on industry updates as the Internet allows breaking news to be reported immediately. NC News is now theme-based and designed to serve as a practice resource by more thoroughly exploring a single topic.
The upcoming NC News on coordination features an article by Ron Manderscheid, reporting on findings that public mental health consumers die 25 years younger than the general population. What do these shocking findings on premature death imply for community behavioral health organizations? Learn more in the next NC News, which will be available late September.
As always, I welcome your feedback at LindaR@nccbh.org or call me at 301.984.6200, ext. 227.
Best regards,
Linda
