NABH Remembers Unit Committee Member Anthony Santucci, M.S.
NABH remembers with grateful appreciation
Anthony Santucci, M.S., 50, of BayCare Behavioral Health, who died unexpectedly on March 25.
Anthony served as BayCare’s director of nursing for 13 years and was an active and energetic member of NABH’s Behavioral Health Services within General Healthcare Systems Committee – known as the Unit Committee – for many years.
Born and raised in South Jersey, Anthony earned his nursing degree at Wesley College in Delaware and continued his education at Jacksonville and Walden Universities, ultimately earning a Master of Science degree in nursing in 2016.
Anthony was also a 2020 graduate of the Tampa Bay Chamber’s Leadership Tampa, an intensive executive leadership program, and was a devoted member of the Tampa Bay behavioral health community for more than 25 years.
Anthony is survived by Jaclyn Santucci, his wife of 20 years, and their daughter Josephine Cecilia. Anthony will be missed by all who knew him.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made in Anthony’s memory to
Feeding Tampa Bay or to the Pinellas County Hunter Association, a horseback riding association, via Zelle at
123pcha@gmail.com.
Register Today for Part II of Our Foundation’s Talent-Recruitment Webinar Series on
April 18
Please join us and
register today for the
NABH Education and Research Foundation’s second webinar about recruiting and retaining talent next
Thursday, April 18 from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET.
NABH Board Chair Frank Ghinassi, Ph.D., A.B.P.P. president and CEO, Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care and senior vice president, Behavioral Health and Addictions Service Line, RWJBarnabas Health, will co-lead this free, interactive webinar with workforce consultants
Beth Kuhn of Stonegate Strategies and
John Pallasch of One Workforce Solutions.
Kuhn has more than 30 years of workforce experience and served previously as commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment and as Vermont’s director of workforce development.
Pallasch has spent more than 20 years influencing organizational personnel, efficiency, and productivity in the public and private sectors and served previously as the assistant secretary for employment and training at the U.S. Labor Department.
Together they will discuss establishing and developing partnerships to “grow your own” within your systems; explore funding opportunities to help support your workforce efforts; and urge you to focus more on skill sets and less on job responsibilities among your staff.
Please share the registration link with your Human Resources, Operations, and Workforce Engagement teams!
The 2024 NABH Annual Meeting Hotel Cutoff Date is Now Sunday, April 28
The Salamander Washington, DC has extended its cutoff date for NABH 2024 Annual Meeting room reservations through
Sunday, April 28.
Please
reserve your hotel room today and be sure to
register for our Annual Meeting
(May 13-15), if you have not done so yet.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
House and Senate Committees Examine Behavioral Healthcare Policies in Hearings
House and Senate Committees returned from the Easter recess and reviewed several pending behavioral healthcare policies this week.
In a hearing on Wednesday, April 10, the House Energy & Commerce Committee Health Subcommittee explored ways to support patients’ access to telehealth as lawmakers determine how best to extend digital health flexibilities in effect through Dec. 31. Lawmakers will need to decide whether to pursue a temporary or permanent extension of pandemic-era telehealth policies. Extending telehealth coverage beyond 2024 is expected to be costly, and if implemented in a budget neutral manner, would reduce funds available for other Medicare programs.
Committee members said best practices on digital billing codes, policies that prevent overuse of telehealth services and limit fraud, and CMS’ ability to capture and report telehealth data are integral pieces for them to determine whether telehealth provisions will be extended permanently by year’s end. Lawmakers also expressed concerns that changes to virtual care policy will not hinder access to in-person care.
Wednesday’s hearing announcement included a list of 15 telehealth bills that would extend or make permanent telehealth provisions. Two bills specific to behavioral healthcare include
H.R. 3432, Rep. Doris Matsui’s (D-Calif.)
Telemental Health Care Access Act, which eliminates certain restrictions relating to Medicare coverage of mental health services that are provided through telehealth; and
H.R. 7858, the
Telehealth Enhancement for Mental Health Act of 2024 from Reps. John James (R-Mich.), Don Davis (D-N.C), and David Schweikert (R-Ariz.), which would establish a Medicare “incident to” modifier for tele-mental health services.
Lawmakers remain divided over whether to extend audio-only telehealth. Representatives who serve rural and underserved communities say audio-only telehealth may be the only way their constituents can experience virtual care. The ultimate collection of provisions – either temporary or permanent – will likely be included in a larger healthcare package expected to be taken up in a lame-duck session.
The Senate Finance Health Subcommittee convened a roundtable to discuss opportunities to improve substance use disorder (SUD) treatments within federal health programs. Witnesses described how measures such as treatment prior authorization, low physician reimbursement rates, and inadequate funding perpetuate treatment barriers for individuals living with SUD. Both Democrats and Republican lawmakers expressed support for increasing access to care through peer support specialists, increased reimbursement rates, comprehensive care, and certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs). Additional discussion items included the importance of a continuum of care and opportunities to reduce SUD stigma.
One panelist highlighted increasing the availability of methadone treatment options, and several senators reiterated support for
S. 644, the
Modernization Opioid Treatment Access Act. Committee leaders indicated they will hold an official hearing about increasing access to SUD treatment in the future.
The National Academies to Explore Mental Health Services for Anxiety & Mood Disorders in Women
The National Academies
Forum on Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder will host a hybrid public
workshop in Washington, D.C. and via webcast to explore mental health care services related to anxiety and mood disorders in women on April 29 and 30.
Sponsored by the Health Resources and Services Administration, the workshop will examine currently available evidence to identify, define, and prepare strategies for essential healthcare services related to anxiety and mood disorders in women across the life course.
Presentations will also describe health disparities, healthcare finances, and policies related to the quality and access of mental healthcare services available for women.
Reminder: Please Submit Data to NABH’s Denial-of-Care Portal
NABH thanks all members who have submitted data to the association’s
Denial-of-Care Portal. You have provided critical information that expands the portal and helps NABH strengthen its advocacy efforts related to erroneous prior-authorization denials.
With guidance from our members, NABH has improved the portal by adding two elements:
- Time-based data on the number of days between a request for coverage and a plan’s denial, which improves our ability to assess and compare health plan responsiveness.
- The gap between days of provided care versus days of covered care to quantify and compare uncompensated days per health plan.
We strongly encourage all NABH members to submit their denial-of-care data in the portal. If you need help starting, or if you have other questions, please e-mail NABH Associate Manager for Congressional Affairs
Emily Wilkins.
Fact of the Week
A new JAMA
study shows probabilities of parents having anxiety-related visits (10.6% versus 7.0%), depression-related visits (8.4% versus 6.1%), and any mental health-related visits (18.1% versus 13.3%) were higher in families of children with cancer versus children without cancer. The authors said the findings underline the importance of multi-level interventions – such as providing MH screening, counseling, and timely support and ensuring comprehensive insurance coverage and paid medical leave – to better meet the mental-health needs of these parents.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.