MEDICAID

Issue Brief Details New Coverage Opportunities via Medicaid and CHIP
States that do an especially good job of signing up eligible children for Medicaid may be in line for extra financial support from the federal government thanks to a provision in the recently passed Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act. The new “performance bonus” is designed to help states cover the added costs that result when states are very successful in enrolling eligible children in Medicaid above target levels specified in the law. It reflects an understanding that aggressive state outreach efforts for CHIP – which federal officials would like to encourage -- tend also to drive up enrollment in state Medicaid programs, since most uninsured children are eligible for public coverage.

Upcoming Webinar on Medicaid HIT Provisions of the ARRA, April 23, 3:30-5 PM EST
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 offers significant funding for state adoption of health information technology (HIT) through the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act. It is important to note that although CBHOs are not explicitly eligible for Medicaid incentive payments; however, this webinar will likely be informative as it will discuss how state Medicaid programs can maximize HIT funding. To see a National Council fact sheet on HIT funding via the ARRA, click here.

Source: NYAPRS ENews

UT: Survey Finds 10.7% of State Residents Uninsured
A recently released report found that about 10.7% or 298,200 Utah residents did not have health insurance in 2008, compared with 10.6% in 2007. The report, based on the Utah Healthcare Access Survey, found that an additional 11,000 state residents were uninsured in 2008 compared with 2007. In addition, the report found that the number of uninsured Utah children declined by more than 13% to 76,000 children. State health officials attribute the decline to easier enrollment in CHIP.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

CA: Health Affairs Article Examines State’s Health Care Reform Efforts
In an article in the journal Health Affairs, researchers examine California's recent experience in developing a universal health coverage plan with "shared responsibility" among individuals, employers and governments. The authors discuss the differences between California's and Massachusetts' approaches to providing affordable health coverage.

Source: Kaiser Family Foundation

State-by-State Listing of Alcohol Taxes
Join Together has updated its website to show what each state’s alcohol tax is, as well as how much of the tax is devoted to treatment, if any. Simply select your state from the top right section of the webpage and click the arrow button to learn more about your state’s alcohol taxes.

SAMHSA Offering Statewide Consumer Network Grants
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has announced that it will award approximately a dozen Statewide Consumer Network Grants of up to $70,000 each, with total program funding estimated at $840,000 in FY2009. The program is intended to "enhance statewide consumer run organizations to promote service system capacity and infrastructure development to be consumer-centered and targeted toward recovery and resiliency, and consumer-driven by promoting the use of consumers as agents of transformation," according to SAMHSA. Nonprofits, government entities, and other organizations dedicated to improving mental-health services statewide may apply. Groups must be governed by a board of directors with at least 50 percent consumers. Current recipients of Statewide Consumer Network Grants may not apply. The application deadline is May 21.

CSAT Offender Reentry Program Grants
The federal Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) will award $8.2 million in grants under the Offender Reentry Program, designed to "expand and/or enhance substance abuse treatment and related recovery and reentry services to sentenced juvenile and adult offenders returning to the community from incarceration for criminal/juvenile offenses." Funds will be awarded to applicants who partner with stakeholders to shift from incarceration of drug offenders to providing community-based treatment and related services. Some funding also will be available for programs inside the walls of prison facilities. The application deadline is May 21.

Applications Now Being Accepted for the RWJF Local Funding Partners Grant
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is now accepting applications for its Local Funding Partnerships program; up to $6 million will be awarded in the 2010 grant cycle. Through this program, RWJF partners with local foundations to fund local projects that have the potential to significantly improve the health of vulnerable populations. New, innovative, collaborative and community-based programs nominated by local grantmakers will be eligible for funding; grants may also go toward programs making significant expansions into new regions or populations. The program carries a local, dollar-for-dollar matching requirement.

SAMHSA STOP Grants to Reduce Underage Drinking
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is now accepting applications for the Sober Truth on Preventing Underage Drinking (STOP) Act Grants, intended to prevent and reduce underage alcohol use. SAMHSA is seeking proposals for environmental strategies for preventing and reducing underage drinking. Nonprofits, government entities, schools, and other groups that are currently or previously received funding from the Drug Free Communities Program are eligible to apply. Applications are due May 26.

SAMHSA Releases 2009 Healthy Transitions Initiative RFA
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Mental Health Services, is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2009 for Cooperative Agreements for State/Community Partnerships to Integrate Services and Supports for Youth and Young Adults 16-25 with Serious Mental Health Conditions, and Their Families (Healthy Transitions Initiative).  The  Healthy Transitions Initiative will create developmentally-appropriate and effective youth-guided local systems of care to improve outcomes for youth and young adults with serious mental health conditions in areas such as education, employment, housing, mental health and co-occurring disorders, and decrease contacts with the juvenile and criminal justice system. These local systems will be linked and integrated at the State/tribal level in order to effect policy change and replication Statewide. Applications are due May 20.

Funding Available for National Health Service Corps Loan Repayment Program
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 provides almost $200 million for new applications and renewals for the National Health Service Corps (NHSC) loan repayment program (LRP). This new money could potentially double the number of clinicians receiving NHSC loan repayment, adding an additional 4,000 clinicians to underserved areas. Another $75 million will be reserved for renewals in 2011, which will in effect provide for 3 years of LRP funding for qualifying clinicians. HRSA staff report that applications will be available in April and will be evaluated on a rolling basis throughout the year. Eligible behavioral and mental health providers include psychiatrists, health service psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, psychiatric nurse specialists, marriage and family therapists, and licensed professional counselors.  Eligible primary care providers include nurse practitioners, physician assistants, and primary care physicians (MD or DO in family practice, internal medicine, pediatrics, obstetrics-gynecology, psychiatry). Details are still forthcoming. For information on the NHSC Loan Repayment Program, click here. The National Council is interested in hearing from members who have loan repayment clinicians on staff or have attempted to obtain HPSA scores in the past. Please contact Chris Loftis to share your comments and experiences with the NHSC program.

SAMHSA Funding Available via the Family Centered Substance Abuse Treatment Grants for Adolescents and their Families
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) will award $3.8 million in grants under the Family Centered Substance Abuse Treatment Grants for Adolescents and their Families program. "The purpose of this program is to provide substance-abuse services to adolescents, their families/primary caregivers and older transition-age youth and where appropriate, any significant others/mentors or other appropriate adults," according to the SAMHSA grant announcement. The application deadline is April 24.

GAO Announces Appointments to Health IT Policy Committee; National Coordinator for HIT Discusses Economic Stimulus Funds
Recently, the Administration announced the appointment of 13 individuals to the Health Information Technology Policy Committee, a new advisory body established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The committee will make recommendations on creating a policy framework for the development and adoption of a nationwide health information technology infrastructure, including standards for the exchange of patient medical information. To see a list of the individuals appointed to this committee, click here. In addition, the National Coordinator for Health IT, David Blumenthal, recently discussed the HIT funding in the ARRA, as well as challenges to implementing HIT within organizations.

RWJ Study Finds that 1 in 5 U.S. Workers Uninsured, Compared to 1 in 7 in mid-1990s
According to a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study, one in five U.S. workers is uninsured, a statistically significant increase from fewer than one in seven during the mid-1990s. During the mid-2000s, 26.9 million U.S. workers were uninsured, about six million more than the 20.7 million uninsured workers in the mid-1990s. In 14 states, 20% or more of the working-age population is uninsured compared with eight states in the 1990s. The study attributed the increase to costs, noting that total premiums for employer-sponsored plans have increased six to eight times faster than wages, depending on whether a worker is enrolled in individual or family coverage. The study also found that nearly all U.S. retirees and nearly 90% of children have health coverage.

Source: Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report

GAO Report Reviews Social Security Administration Backlog of Disability Claims
The Government Accountability Office recently released a report analyzing the reasons for the current backlog of disability claims at the Social Security Administration. SSA’s total backlog of disability claims doubled from 1997, reaching 576,000 in 2006, which has resulted in claimants waiting longer for final decisions. SSA also experienced declines in field office service delivery, with average customer wait times in field offices increasing by 40 percent from 2002 to 2006, and over 3 million customers waiting more than 1 hour to be served in 2008. Two key factors likely contributed to the backlog and service delivery challenges: (1) staffing reductions or turnover of field office staff and key personnel involved in the disability claims process, and (2) increased workloads.

NAMI African-American Faith-Based Outreach Initiative Toolkit
NAMI’s Multicultural Action Center is pleased to announce the availability of Sharing Hope: Understanding Mental Health, a toolkit for outreach and education to African American congregations. This toolkit includes a practical guide for African American faith community outreach, a 60-minute scripted educational presentation for congregations, and more. Goals of this initiative are to decrease mental health stigma in this community, increase awareness of mental health recovery, and introduce NAMI education and support programs.

American Academy of Pediatrics Releases Article on Improving MH Services in Primary Care Settings
The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry would like to announce the release of Improving Mental Health Services in Primary Care: Reducing the Administrative and Financial Barriers to Access and Collaboration.  This article should be helpful to advocacy efforts at the local, regional, and national levels. This paper was supported by the Improving Mental Heath in Primary Care Through Access, Collaboration, and Training (IMPACT) grant to the AAP from the Maternal and Child Health Bureau.

NIH Will Use $60 Million in Recovery Act Funds to Support Strategic Autism Research
The NIH will commit roughly $60 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to support autism research and meet objectives set forth earlier this year by a federal advisory committee. The Request for Applications is the largest funding opportunity for research on autism spectrum disorders (ASD) to date and, combined with other ARRA initiatives, represents a surge in NIH's commitment to finding the causes and treatments for autism.

Source: NIMH Update

AHRQ: Task Force Recommends Screening Adolescents for Clinical Depression
The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommends screening adolescents for clinical depression only when appropriate systems are in place to ensure accurate diagnosis, treatment and follow-up care. This applies to all adolescents 12 to 18 years of age. In a separate recommendation, the Task Force found insufficient evidence to assess the balance of benefits and harms of screening children 7 to 11 years of age for clinical depression. The recommendations and the accompanying summary of evidence appear in the April issue of Pediatrics.

Source: NIMH Update

Share Your Ideas on Health Care Reform with SAMHSA and Policymakers
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has created a new place on its website for posting and exchanging ideas about the issues and opportunities surrounding the future shape of America's health system - especially on how reform may affect mental health, substance abuse prevention and treatment services. The goal of the website is to provide background information to policy makers and opinion leaders on this important perspective of the health reform discussion.