Registration is Open for the 2023 NABH Annual Meeting: Securing the Promise of Parity!
Please join us in Washington, DC from
June 12-14, 2023 for this year’s NABH Annual Meeting at the Salamander Washington, DC (formerly the Mandarin Oriental hotel).
NABH’s theme this year is
Securing the Promise of Parity, which recognizes the
Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act’s (MPAEA) 15
th anniversary and that we have more work to do to ensure the landmark law is implemented fully.
Please visit our Annual Meeting
homepage to register, reserve your hotel room, and view our Annual Meeting At-a-Glance.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
Please Send Us Your Feedback on Workforce Challenges & Solutions
The NABH Research and Education Foundation is seeking comments from NABH members on 1) the main drivers of your system’s workforce shortages, and 2) your ideas for solutions.
NABH will gather this collective feedback and respond to the request for information (RFI) that the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee
announced thursday.
The RFI follows a Feb. 16 hearing the Senate HELP Committee held to examine the root causes of America’s current healthcare workforce shortages and explore potential solutions.
Please send your comments as an attachment to foundation@nabh.org by the close of business on Monday, March 13.
Thank you for your help with this critical issue!
DEA Proposes Two Telemedicine Regulations
The Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) recently published two telemedicine rules that, taken together, largely revert to pre-COVID requirements for an in-person medical evaluation prior to prescribing controlled substances.
DEA’s Notices of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) for
buprenorphine and
telemedicine without an in-person medical evaluation propose permitting the following two scenarios under which a
telemedicine prescription can take place:
Scenario A: Permitting a
virtual first prescription by the prescribing practitioner without an in-person medical evaluation for an initial 30-days of
non-narcotic Schedule III-V or buprenorphine-controlled substances. The NPRM proposes specific processes and documentation requirements for this scenario, such as checking the PDMP and noting ‘telemedicine’ on the face of the prescription.
Scenario B: Permitting a
qualified telemedicine referral in which a second DEA-registered practitioner performs an in-person exam and makes a referral to the prescribing practitioner. Under this scenario,
Schedule II-V and narcotic substances can be prescribed. The NPRM proposes processes and documentation for these referrals, such as a written referral and transfer of medical records prior to prescribing.
To continue prescribing after 30-days under Scenario A, a
one-time in-person medical evaluation is required. The in-person evaluation requirement can be satisfied in three ways:
- Through an evaluation by the telemedicine prescribing practitioner;
- Through an evaluation conducted as a three-way audio-visual exam in which the prescribing practitioner, another DEA-registered referring provider, and the patient participate;
- Through a ‘qualified telemedicine referral’ by another DEA-registered practitioner who has seen the patient in-person and who adheres to specific procedures and documentation for the referral.
Meanwhile, if a telemedicine prescription for a controlled substance was initiated during the public health emergency (PHE), the NPRM proposes a 180-day transition period during which time an in-person medical evaluation must take place. If the NPRM is finalized by May 11, 2023 (the designated end of the PHE), an individual inducted during the PHE would have to have an in-person medical evaluation by November 2023. This extends to all prescriptions for controlled substances II-V initiated during the PHE.
The NPRM do not include the long-awaited special registration rule, which would have allowed certain clinicians to prescribe controlled substances via telemedicine without an in-person evaluation. Moreover, DEA said this NPRM satisfies its obligation to propose rules for a special registration.
In addition, the revisions align with the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ updated definition of telehealth to include audio-only telemedicine of controlled substances for mental health where states permit it. These instances are both limited and situational.
NABH will provide comments to DEA by the agency’s March 31 deadline. Please send any comments to Sarah Wattenberg at
sarah@nabh.org by Friday, March 17.
SAMHSA Releases Report on Long COVID’s Effects on Behavioral Health
A meta-analysis of studies around the world showed that the overall prevalence of depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances among COVID-19 survivors was 45%, 47%, and 34%, respectively, according to a report released this week from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) defines Long COVID as “new, returning, or ongoing symptoms that last four or more weeks following acute COVID-19 diagnosis.”
SAMHSA’s report,
Overview of the Impacts of Long COVID on Behavioral Health, examines the effects of the deadly virus in a variety of areas, including cognitive and psychiatric symptoms associated with Long COVID, a widening of health disparity gaps, potential long-term implications, and future directions for Long COVID recovery.
“Among the most common symptoms of Long COVID is a gradient of cognitive and psychiatric sequelae (e.g., depression, anxiety, PTSD), which may portend significant consequences for patient functioning and quality of life,” the report noted.
The study also said that in comparison with those not affected, COVID-19 survivors show increased rates of mental health and cognitive problems.
Reminder: Please Submit Data to Enhance NABH’s Managed-Care Advocacy Efforts
Thank you to all members who have submitted data to NABH’s denial-of-care portal. Your data will help NABH highlight problems in the field related to health plan denials and timeliness.
Several policymaking entities are interested in these data, which could support advocacy for expanded access to care. For new participants, please e-mail
Emily Wilkins, NABH’s administrative coordinator, for support.
Fact of the Week
Research has shown that, regardless of COVID-19 status, 53% of healthcare workers reported symptoms of at least one mental health condition, including depression (32%), anxiety (30%), PTSD (37%), and suicidal ideation (8%), according to SAMHSA’s
Overview of the Impacts of Long COVID on Behavioral Health.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.
