CEO Update 216
Senate Finance Committee Advances RFK, Jr.’s Nomination for HHS Secretary
The Senate Finance Committee on Feb. 4 advanced Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s nomination to serve as secretary of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS).
President Donald Trump named Kennedy to lead HHS after Kennedy dropped his own presidential bid and endorsed Trump. Since then, Kennedy has overcome opposition from both Democrats and Republicans concerned about his views on vaccines, abortion, environmental regulation, food production and drug legalization.
The Senate panel voted 14-13 along party lines to advance Kennedy to a full Senate vote. During his confirmation hearing, Kennedy promised to work with senators to repeal the federal ban on Medicaid funding for Institutions for Mental Diseases following a question from Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.).
“This is a discriminatory exclusion, and it denies payment for medically necessary care based on the illness that is being treated, and it has perpetuated unequal coverage in mental healthcare,” Blackburn noted. “So, if you’re confirmed, when you’re confirmed, will you commit to working with me on repealing this discriminatory exclusion and ensuring equal access to mental health care for Medicaid beneficiaries?”
Kennedy answered yes. Congress has previously considered repealing or altering the IMD exclusion, but progress has stalled due to a historically high price tag. Advocates have said they hope this will change because the Congressional Budget Office’s latest estimate found eliminating the IMD exclusion for some or all behavioral healthcare treatments would cost between $7.7 billion and $38.4 billion — far lower than the 2016 proposal’s estimate of $40 billion to $60 billion.
Now the full Senate will decide whether Kennedy will lead HHS. A Senate floor vote has not been scheduled, although it is expected to occur soon.
Meanwhile, the physician and TV personality Mehmet Oz, M.D., M.B.A. has started meeting with senators to garner support for his nomination to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS). The Senate Finance Committee will also decide whether Oz will lead CMS.
Concurrently, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has been on-site at CMS to mine key systems for examples of what DOGE considers fraud or waste. The DOGE representatives have gained access to payment and contracting systems. It remains unclear how the DOGE personnel will use any data from the agency to combat any fraud.
In a 77-23 vote, the Senate confirmed former Rep. Doug Collins, a Georgia Republican, to lead the U.S. Veterans Affairs Department (VA). Only Democrats opposed the nominee, who will now inherit an agency that has historically struggled to provide quality healthcare to the millions of veterans it serves. During his confirmation hearing, Collins pledged to expand access to care outside the VA.
NASHP Releases Report on Behavioral Healthcare Workforce Strategies
The National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) this week released Key Strategies for Strengthening the Behavioral Health Workforce after the organization convened a multi-sector roundtable composed of policymakers, payors, providers, employers, and others who examined the issue.
The extensive report focused on six themes: 1) understanding the workforce you are building, 2) scaling effective treatment teams for greater impact, 3) better patient matching to need, 4) technological workforce extenders, 5) optimizing the unlicensed skilled workforce, and 6) payment and financing strategies.
Click here to read the full report.
MHA Report Examines Social Media and Youth Well-being
Mental Health America recently released Breaking the Algorithm: Redesigning Social Media for Youth Well-being, a report that explores how social media is affecting young people’s mental health, relationships, and daily lives.
The report gathers insights from more than 900 survey respondents, focus groups with young people, and conversations with youth co-researcher to analyze the dual nature of social media as both a connector and a source of harm, how algorithms shape youth experiences – often without their full understanding or consent –, and why it’s critical to empower young people with tools, education, and a voice in the systems that share their digital worlds.
Click here to read the full report.
ICYMI: NABH’s Safe Connections Campaign Highlights Cyber-aggression
NABH recently released and promoted two new resources about cyber-aggression as part of its Safe Connections campaign about healthy minds and social media habits for America’s youth.
Please visit our Youth Services page to access all of the Safe Connections resources and share our social media posts on LinkedIn and X.
NABH thanks Donald Grant, Ph.D., with Newport Healthcare, and the NABH Youth Services Committee for its work on this campaign.
ICYMI: NABH Analysis on How Medicaid Proposals Could Disrupt Behavioral Healthcare Access
Recently NABH sent all members an analysis explaining how several proposals could lower federal financial participation (FFP) in Medicaid.
These proposals include changing the current formula for Federal Medical Assistance Percentages, instituting caps to FFP at the state- or enrollee-levels (such as by transitioning Medicaid to a block grant), or limiting the existing safe harbor preventing a portion of state taxes on providers’ net patient revenue from being considered when calculating FFP.
Other recommendations have been made to institute work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries. Click here to read the NABH Analysis from Dan Schwarz, NABH’s director of quality and addiction services.
Save the Date: Join Us in May for the 2025 NABH Annual Meeting!
Please plan to join your peers and the NABH team at the Salamander Washington, DC from May 12-14 for this year’s NABH Annual Meeting.
NABH will provide more details soon in future editions of CEO Update and in NABH Annual Meeting Alerts. We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
Fact of the Week
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports the percentage of adults who used electronic cigarettes increased to 6.5% in 2023 from 4.5% in 2019.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.