SAMHSA Awards Grant to Vibrant Emotional Health to Administer 988 Crisis Hotline
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) this week announced Vibrant Emotional Health will be the administrators for the new 988 dialing code for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline that will be available in July 2022.
A pair of SAMHSA grants totaling $48 million—including $32 million in
Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act 2021 funding—will finance the effort to use technology to help Americans in mental health crisis and save lives. Vibrant has administered the lifeline since it was created in 2005.
“These grants will work to expand the nation’s call centers’ capacity and technological readiness as the Lifeline’s shift to 988 becomes operational next summer,” Tom Coderre, acting assistant secretary for mental health and substance use and the interim head of SAMHSA, said in announcement. “Until that launch, we ask anyone who needs help or who has a loved one at risk of suicide to call or chat with Lifeline operators at 1-800-273-8255.”
Senate Finance Committee Examines Integrated Payment Models for Primary and Mental Healthcare
The Senate Finance Committee this week held a hearing to discuss mental healthcare in America and payment models that integrate mental health with primary care.
In his prepared statement, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said every American who needs mental healthcare should have it, “but the shameful reality is, the United States does not come close to meeting that bar today. Multiple federal laws say that mental healthcare is supposed to be on a level playing field with physical health care,” Wyden’s statement continued. “In practice, however, the system still reflects the dangerous, old stigma against recognizing and treating mental illness, and that’s why millions of people are falling through the cracks.”
Members of the influential Senate panel heard from the executive director of the Wallowa Valley Center for Wellness Clinic in Oregon, one of the state’s dozen Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, which provides same-day treatment to patients through an integrated primary and mental healthcare model. A
Modern Healthcare story reported that while the funding for the model—which comes from an enhanced Medicaid reimbursement rate based on expected costs of care—is not permanent, emergency department admissions for mental health in Wallowa County is down and the amount of veterans accessing behavioral healthcare is up 300% since the demonstration began.
NABH and Other Healthcare Groups Send Letter to United Healthcare About ED Policy
NABH was one of more than 30 healthcare and medical organizations this week that sent a
letter to United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson about the insurance company’s new policy to allow for the retroactive denial of coverage for emergency care in hospital emergency departments (EDs).
The new policy will have serious medical consequences for patients, and the groups requested that United rescind the policy permanently.
“Even before the Covid-19 pandemic, the need for access to mental healthcare and substance use services was reaching crisis levels,” the letter said. “In 2019, less than half of adults with mental health conditions received services, and nearly 90% of those with a substance use disorder did not receive treatment. EDs around the country often serve as the only safety net for a fragmented mental health infrastructure,” it continued. “For those in crisis for whom the ED is a lifeline for care, an added threat of a retroactive denial of coverage under this policy can be devastating.”
Other groups that signed the letter include the American College of Emergency Physicians, the American College of Surgeons, the American Medical Association, the Emergency Nurses Association, the Federation of American Hospitals, The Kennedy Forum, and the Well Being Trust.
SAMHSA to Host Webinar on Behavioral Health Disorders and the Criminal Justice System on July 6
SAMHSA will host a webinar about strategies to create community-based crisis systems for people with behavioral health disorders who are at risk for involvement with the criminal justice system.
The webinar will be held Tuesday, July 6 from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. ET. Click
here to register.
Register Today for the NABH 2021 Annual Meeting
Registration is open for the NABH 2021 Annual Meeting from Wednesday, Oct. 6 – Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, DC.
We hope you join us as we recognize our meeting theme,
Expanding Access: Right Care. Right Setting. Right Time.
Please visit our Annual Meeting
webpage to register for the meeting and to reserve your hotel room. We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
Fact of the Week
In a new
study of nearly 43,000 adults who responded to a national survey on drug and alcohol use in 2019, researchers found that roughly 6% had alcohol use disorder, fewer than 10% of whom reported receiving any treatment for their condition. The authors suggest the findings highlight the need for more even access to medication for alcohol use disorder.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.