DOL Official Timothy Hauser to Headline NABH Annual Meeting Day #2
NABH is pleased to announce Timothy D. Hauser, deputy assistant secretary for program operations at the U.S. Labor Department’s (DOL) Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), will kick off our Annual Meeting’s second day on Tuesday, May 14 at 10 a.m.
Hauser, who serves as EBSA’s chief operating officer, will discuss parity and be prepared to answer questions from attendees.
Hauser joined DOL in 1991 as a trial attorney for the Plan Benefits Security Division (PBSD), where he represented the department in federal district court and appellate litigation. From November 2000 until November 2013, Hauser was the associate solicitor of the division.
As the head of PBSD, Hauser was responsible for all of DOL’s legal work under ERISA. Before joining DOL, Hauser worked as a trial attorney for six years at Legal Aid of Western Missouri. He graduated from Harvard Law School in 1985 and earned his undergraduate degree at the University of Illinois.
You can learn more about this year’s
speakers and view our
preliminary program on NABH’s Annual Meeting homepage. And please be sure to
register for the Annual Meeting if you haven’t yet.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
Remember to Register for Hill Day 2024!
Please register for Hill Day 2024 on Tuesday, May 14 and urge members of your team to join you!
Hill Day is an excellent opportunity to meet one-on-one with legislators to discuss the issues that matter most to behavioral healthcare providers.
After you
register for the NABH Annual Meeting, the NABH Congressional Affairs team will match you with legislators who represent you or your facility footprint. Closer to the day of the meeting, we will send you a meeting schedule, materials, and talking points to guide your conversations with Members of Congress and their staff.
Please indicate in your Annual Meeting registration form that you are interested in Hill Day and be sure to include all the states where your system has a footprint. If you have an existing relationship with a legislator, please let us know!
SAMHSA’s Recent Grant Funding Opportunities Limit Financial Incentives for Contingency Management
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) this week released funding opportunity notices for
State Opioid Response and
Tribal Opioid Response grants that limit financial incentives for contingency management to $75 per budget period.
While the grants require implementing evidence-based practices, the funding limitation is contrary to what is known to be an evidence-based incentive amount that produces behavior change. This amount is inconsistent with what the Contingency Management Policy and Practice Group (CMPG) – known formerly as the Motivational Incentive Policy Group and of which NABH is a member – has advised the federal government.
“This is a squandered opportunity to implement a highly effective treatment for stimulant use disorder, which is fueling almost half of our nation’s overdoses,” said NABH Director of Quality and Addiction Services Sarah Wattenberg, who serves as NABH’s CMPG representative. “If we can’t get a handle on stimulant use, we won’t see the overdose rate go down,” Wattenberg said before she cautioned providers against using $75 for incentives because they haven’t proven effective.
The grant applications are due July 1, 2024.
Reminder: Please Complete Federal BHIT Data Standards Survey by May 12
Advocating for parity in behavioral health information technology (BHIT) is one of NABH’s top advocacy priorities.
That’s why we strongly urge our members’ information technology, medical record documentation, and coding leaders to complete a federal survey by May 12 that will help create standardized behavioral health data elements.
NABH alerted members about the survey from SAMHSA and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology (ONC) in
CEO Update earlier this year.
Part of SAMHSA and ONC’s joint
BHIT initiative, the survey presents more than 150 potential data elements for consideration, including many clinical elements, as well as provides a platform for survey respondents to submit alternative elements for evaluation.
Ultimately, HHS expects to incorporate the final data metrics into the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation’s eight-year
project with eight states to develop alternative payment models and quality measures to advance integrated BH and physical healthcare services, including a Medicare per-member-per-month risk-adjusted payment, and a complementary Medicaid payment model and statewide IT approach.
To participate in the survey, respondents must first create a user account using the log in feature in the top right of the
USCDI+ Platform page. See the USCDI+
User Guides for help creating an account, navigating datasets, and submitting new data elements or comments.
Learn more from this federal resource
page, or e-mail
USCDI.Plus@hhs.gov for further assistance.
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
The American Psychological Association recently released a
report that calls on social media companies to take responsibility to help protect youth mental health.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.