CEO Update 92
CMS Announces Actions to Address Spread of Coronavirus
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) this week announced a series of actions intended to limit the spread of Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19), starting with directing healthcare providers nationwide to ensure they are implementing their infection-control procedures, which providers are required to maintain at all times.
CMS also announced that until further notice, state survey agencies and accrediting organizations will focus their facility inspections exclusively on issues related to infection control and other serious health and safety threats, such as abuse allegations, starting with nursing homes and hospitals. Vice President Pence—who is leading the government’s response to COVID-19—said this shift in approach will allow inspectors to focus their energies on addressing the spread of COVID-19.
The agency also provided information on suspension of survey activities, guidance for infection control and prevention concerning COVID-19 and related FAQs, and guidance for infection control and prevention of COVID-19 in nursing homes.
As of noon ET on Friday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a total of 164 COVID-19 cases and 11 deaths in the United States, with 19 states reporting cases. The Atlanta-based agency has also provided guidance for healthcare facilities and information about clinician outreach and activity. Click here for an overview and additional information.
NABH alerted 2020 NABH Annual Meeting participants on March 3 that the association is watching federal updates closely and will continue its plans for the Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C. from March 16-18.
Senators Manchin, Moore Capito Reintroduce Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act
Senators Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) this week reintroduced the Protecting Jessica Grubb’s Legacy Act, which would allow patients to opt in and share their addiction medical records.
The legislation would also make it easier to share addiction records for the purposes of treatment, payment, and healthcare operations, while allowing patients to remain in control. The bill would also provide new protections under 42 CFR Part 2, which was passed in the 1970s before the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 and electronic medical records.
NABH has long supported reforming 42 CFR Part 2. Click here to read a summary of the bill from Sens. Manchin and Moore Capito.
NABH Supports Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act
NABH was one of 40 organizations in the Mental Health Liaison Group this week to support the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act, which would eliminate Medicare’s 190-day lifetime limit for Medicare beneficiaries who require inpatient psychiatric hospital care.
“This lifetime limit does not apply to psychiatric units in general hospitals and there is no such lifetime limit for any other Medicare specialty inpatient hospital service,” the MHLG wrote in a letter to Sens. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and Tina Smith (D-Minn.) “Through passage of landmark legislation, the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008, Congress put coverage for mental health and substance use disorders on par with other medical disorders,” the letter continued. “Also, that year, Congress passed important legislation to phase-in equalization of the Medicare outpatient coinsurance for mental and physical health. We must now finish the parity job and finally give Medicare beneficiaries the full parity that other individuals now have.”
The MHLG also sent a letter to Reps. Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.), an NABH Behavioral Healthcare Champion, and Bill Huizenga (R-Mich.) regarding a companion bill in the House.
CMS Issues Guidance on Access to Mental Health and SUD Services for Children and Pregnant Women
CMS this week sent a letter to state health officials that describes a provision in the Substance Use Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities (SUPPORT) Act related to coverage of mental health services for children and pregnant women.
“While the SUPPORT Act builds on MHPAEA, it is different in two important ways,” Calder Lynch, deputy administrator and director for the Center of Medicaid and CHIP Services, wrote in the letter. “Unlike MHPAEA, the SUPPORT Act explicitly requires coverage of behavioral health services.”
ONDCP to Host Webinar on Building the Addiction Physician Expert Workforce
Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) Director James Carroll and HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Brett Giroir, M.D. will host the webinar Building the Addiction Physician Expert Workforce to promote understanding of the addiction physician’s role in meeting the needs for substance use disorder (SUD) prevention and treatment.
The hourlong session on Tuesday, March 10 at 2 p.m. ET will also provide information and resources for efforts to expand the addiction physician workforce. Click here to register.
NABH Welcomes Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan as Annual Meeting Speaker
NABH is pleased to welcome Joe Grogan, assistant to President Trump and director of the Domestic Policy Council, as a speaker to kick off the Annual Meeting policy breakfast on Wednesday, March 18 at 8 a.m.
Grogan, who leads the Trump administration’s domestic policy agenda, served previously as associate director for health programs at the Office of Management and Budget, where he managed the allocation and budgeting of more than $1 trillion in federal spending.
In the private sector, Grogan has worked in management at leading biotechnology firms Gilead Sciences, Inc., and Amgen, Inc. During President George W. Bush’s administration, he served as both a civil servant and in policy-making roles for more than seven years.
Grogan has also served as executive director of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV and AIDS (PACHA), senior advisor to the FDA commissioner, and special assistant in the Administration for Children and Families.
Learn more about our Annual Meeting speakers and preliminary program. We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
Fact of the Week
In 2018, estimated 27.2 million Americans age 18 and older reported they experienced an alcohol or other drug use problem in their lifetime and approximately 20.2 million Americans over 18 described themselves as being in recovery from a drug or alcohol problem or having recovered from one.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.