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CEO Update | 22

CMS Announces Model to Address the Effect of the Opioid Crisis on Kids The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) this week announced the Integrated Care for Kids (InCK) Model as part of the agency’s approach to addressing America’s opioid crisis. InCK is a service delivery and state payment model designed to reduce costs and improve care quality for children covered by Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) through prevention, early identification, and treatment of priority health issues such as behavioral health challenges and physical health needs. According to CMS, the new model will help state Medicaid agencies and their local health and community-based partners identify and address risk factors for behavioral health conditions. The CMS Innovation Center plans to release a detailed “notice of funding” opportunity this fall that describes how state Medicaid agencies and local health and community-based organizations can apply to participate in the model. CMS expects to award funding for up to eight states at a maximum of $16 million as early as next spring. Separately this week, a new study in the journal Pediatrics found that learning disabilities and other special education needs are common in children born with opioid-related symptoms from their mother’s drug use while pregnant. The study involved about 7,200 children aged 3 to 8 enrolled in Tennessee’s Medicaid program. Of those children, nearly 2,000 were born with “newborn abstinence syndrome,” a collection of symptoms caused by withdrawal from their pregnant mother’s use of opioid drugs such as prescription painkillers, heroin, or fentanyl. Mary-Margaret Fill, M.D., the study’s lead author and a researcher with Tennessee’s health department, said these children “are definitely not doomed,” according to an Associated Press story about the study. “There are great programs and services that exist to help these children and their families,” Fill added. “We just have to make sure they get plugged in.” U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Posts Final Research Plan on Preventing Illicit Drug Use in Kids and Young Adults The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force has posted a final research plan on interventions to prevent illicit and non-medical drug use in children, adolescents, and young adults. The Task Force posted a draft plan for public comment from May 10 through June 6 and considered the comments it received before finalizing the plan. Click here to read the final research plan. The National Academies Publishes Summary on Intersection of OUD and Infectious Disease Epidemics The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine has published a summary of its March 2018 workshop, Integrating Responses at the Intersection of Opioid Use Disorder and Infectious Disease Epidemics. Between 1999 and 2016, the number of drug overdoses spiked by 300 percent, with injection drug use increasing by 93 percent between 2004 and 2014, and opioid-related hospital admissions rising by 58 percent in the last decade. The National Academies hosted the spring workshop to address the infectious disease consequences of the nation’s opioid crisis. During the workshop, participants discussed strategies to prevent and treat infections in people who inject drugs, especially ways to work efficiently through the existing public health and medical systems. Click here to purchase the summary. U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Seeks Comment on Draft Review of Interventions to Prevent Prenatal Depression The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force is seeking public comment on a draft recommendation statement and evidence review on interventions to prevent prenatal depression. According to its announcement, the Task Force found that counseling can help prevent prenatal depression in women at increased risk. The draft recommendation statement and draft evidence review are available for review and public comment from Aug. 28, 2018 through Sept. 24, 2018. Click here for information about how to submit comments. JAMA Study Examines Risk Factors Associated with Attempted Suicide Among Soldiers Without History of Mental Health Diagnosis A new JAMA study suggests that personnel, medical, legal, and family services records could help identify suicide attempt risk among soldiers with unrecognized mental health problems. According to the study’s abstract, the U.S. Army suicide attempt rate rose sharply during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. This study sought to examine the factors for suicide attempt among U.S. Army soldiers with no history of mental health diagnosis. The findings showed that among 9,650 enlisted soldiers with a document suicide attempt, 3,507, or 36.6 percent, did not have a previous mental health diagnosis. It also found that risk factors for attempt—including sociodemographic, service-related, physical healthcare, injury, subjection to crime, crime perpetration, and family violence—were similar, regardless of previous diagnosis, although the strength of associations differed. Save the Date for the NABH 2019 Annual Meeting! Please save the date and plan to join us at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. from March 18-20, 2019 for the 2019 NABH Annual Meeting. NABH will provide additional information in upcoming editions of CEO Update.   For questions or comments about CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.