National Council for Mental Wellbeing

Last week, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) officially missed its deadline to submit its plans to Congress on how it will execute a special registration process that would allow providers to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine. The directive from Congress was passed in last year’s SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act and was aimed at combatting the opioid crisis by increasing access to medication-assisted treatment (MAT). DEA was given one year from the signing of that law to create and release its plan to initiate this special registration process. While the agency admits it missed the deadline, no plans have yet been announced to comply with the law and finalize the special registration process.

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Earlier this month, the Department of State (DOS) issued an interim final rule that mirrors changes to expand the definition of a “public charge,” promulgated by the Department of Homeland Security. Some immigrants are subject to a test when entering the U.S. to determine if they will become a “public charge,” or someone who is likely to become dependent on the government in the future, which weighs against their immigration eligibility. The DOS rule, which has not yet taken effect, would apply to non-U.S. citizens who go through consular processing in their home country before entering the U.S.

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The Congressional Black Caucus’s Emergency Taskforce on Black Youth Suicide recently hosted its fourth forum, “Hearing Their Stories: Students and How They Handle Their Mental Health.” Members of Congress heard from five students, as well as Susan Taylor, former editor-in-chief of Essence Magazine, and Dr. Cheryl Grills, Professor, Loyola Marymount University. The panelists provided recommendations for Congressional action to address mental health concerns among black youth.

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This week, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) joined a group of his colleagues in the Senate to introduce the Restoring, Enhancing, Strengthening, and Promoting Our Nation’s Safety Efforts (RESPONSE) Act (S. 2690). Within this wide-ranging bill, there are provisions the National Council supports including increasing access to mental health treatment, such as promoting collaboration between the mental health and criminal justice systems and supporting school-based behavioral intervention teams. The National Council shares the Senators desire to increase access to mental health treatment and recovery.

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Earlier this month, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) released a pair of proposed rules aimed at modernizing and clarifying the Stark Law and the Anti-Kickback Statute (AKS), two health care fraud and abuse laws. These new proposed rules aim to ease provider compliance burden and improve certainty for providers in value-based arrangements and for those who provide coordinated care. The rules also provide protections for providers transferring electronic health records and coordinating local transportation.

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Last week, President Trump signed an executive order designed to limit the effect of federal agency guidance. Historically, agencies have issued guidance to the public on how to best comply with a law or regulation, and, for many agencies, guidance documents have taken the place of policymaking. Issuing guidance can often be a much faster process than the possible years of waiting for federal regulation to be approved. The executive order makes all current and future guidance documents nonbinding, “both in law and in practice.”

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Federal judges in New York, California, and Washington state have issued temporary injunctions against the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) public charge rule. The rule, which was set to take effect on October 15 but is now on hold, would greatly expand the definition of “public charge” when considering some immigrants’ applications to enter or become permanent residents of the United States. The National Council has long opposed the proposed updates to public charge determinations as they would result in significant harm to the health and welfare of migrant families.

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Last month the National Council joined the Mental Health for US Coalition and local advocates in Des Moines, IA to present a joint platform on mental health priorities for the 2020 election cycle. The event is a kick-off to a multi-state and national campaign to educate policymakers and elevate the role of mental health policy solutions among all candidates for President of the United States. The next event, a Town Hall, will be taking place in Manchester, NH on December 16th, 2019.

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Last week, President Trump issued an Executive Order directing the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to advance a series of changes for the Medicare program. These changes aim to provide more health plan options for Medicare beneficiaries, modify Medicare fee-for-service (FFS) payments, and reduce regulatory burden, among others.

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President Trump last week released a proclamation suspending entry for some immigrants who cannot prove that they will have health coverage or the means to pay for it without assistance within 30 days of their arrival. Under the proclamation, immigrants who “will financially burden the U.S. healthcare system” by remaining uninsured or relying on public health programs such as Medicaid or government-subsidized coverage will be denied a visa. The National Council remains strongly opposed to policies such as this that prevent individuals from receiving health care and assistance to which they are legally entitled.

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