2.2 Million Kids Impacted by the Opioid Crisis
2.2 million children experienced neonatal withdrawal, entered foster care, or were addicted to opioids themselves in 2017, according to a
new report from the United Hospital Fund. The report found that 54 out of 1,000 children in West Virginia were impacted by the opioid crisis and 20 out of 1,000 children in California.
If the course of the opioid crisis is not changed, the report concluded that by 2030, there will be 4.3 million children affected annually. “Increase the availability of family-based mental health services” was among the proposed strategies to help kids.
New Price Transparency Rule for Hospitals
Today the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued new rules, effective January 2021, requiring facilities to disclose rates negotiated with insurers; what the hospital is willing to accept in cash from a patient, and the minimum and maximum negotiated charges.
NABH commented in September on the proposed changes and questioned CMS’ legal authority to make these changes. Shortly following the rule, the American Hospital Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, Association of American Medical Colleges and the Children’s Hospital Association announced they intend to challenge the new rule in court.
CMS Proposes Regulations on Fiscal Integrity in Medicaid
CMS has proposed a Medicaid Fiscal Accountability Rule (MFAR) that focuses on eliminating impermissible financing arrangements. CMS stated in a press release that the “proposed rule aims to strengthen accountability, increase transparency of Medicaid payments, and improve program integrity to ensure the Medicaid program is sustainable for future generations.”
Singled out in the proposal are “states that generate extra payments for private nursing facilities that enter into arrangements with local governments to bypass tax and donation rules, and the use of a loophole to tax managed care entities 25 times higher for Medicaid business than for similar commercial business.
States can then use that tax revenue to generate additional payments, with no commiserate increase in state spending.” NABH is planning to submit comments on the proposal.
White House Meeting on “Addressing Overdose and Response at Colleges and Universities”
Sarah Wattenberg, NABH Director of Quality and Addiction Services, moderated a panel at the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy’s meeting, ‘Addressing Overdose and Response at Colleges and Universities.’
The panel focused on federal privacy laws that operate on campuses, which protect students’ privacy but will allow campus officials to inform parents and others when necessary. Panelists included HHS Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use, Elinore F. McCance-Katz M.D. P.H.D, who spoke about the prevalence of mental health and substance use on campuses, and clarified that the substance abuse confidentiality law (42 CFR Part 2) did not typically apply to campus health care.
Deputy Assistant Secretary for Higher Education Programs, Chris McCaghren, from the Department of Education, discussed how the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) applies to student education and treatment records. He emphasized the importance of training all staff on how the law worked.
CMS Issues Final OTP Rule
CMS issued the final regulation on the
CY2020 Physician Fee Schedule, which included detailed information about
Medicare Enrollment for Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs). OTPs that enroll may begin billing January 2020. NABH released an
NABH Analysis that provides a summary of those provisions, which provide for the treatment of opioid use disorders with new bundled service codes for OTPs, and for telehealth and opioid use treatment services in office-based settings.
Senate Hearing on Alzheimer’s Awareness
NABH PAC Champions Senators Patrick Toomey (R-PA) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI) will be holding a
hearing next week on Alzheimer’s Disease. Witnesses for the hearing include Jason Karlawish, MD the Co-Director of the Penn Memory Center University of Pennsylvania; Janet Tomcavage, Chief Nursing Executive at Geisinger; Marc A. Cohen, Ph.D, Professor Research Director at the Center For Consumer Engagement In Health Innovation UMass Boston and Community Catalyst; and Lauren Kovach, and Alzheimer’s advocate from Brighton , MI.
Register Today for the 2020 NABH Annual Meeting!
Please visit NABH’s Annual Meeting
homepage today to view the Schedule At-a-Glance and to
register for the meeting.
Also please be sure to make your hotel
reservation at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, DC from March 16-18, 2020. We look forward to seeing you next March!
Fact of the Week
The opioid
crisis has contributed to the decline in U.S. overall life expectancy for 3 consecutive years; the first 3 year-on-year decline in U.S. life expectancy since the 1918 flu pandemic.
For questions or comments about the Nov. 15 edition of CEO Update, please contact Scott Dziengelski. 