CEO Update 113
HHS Releases Provider Relief Fund Step-by-Step Guide and Stakeholder Toolkit
The U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) this week hosted a webinar to clarify issues related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act’s (CARES) Provider Relief Fund and released materials for providers navigating the system to receive federal funding during the Covid-19 pandemic.
On Thursday, HHS’ Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) hosted the webinar about the Provider Relief Fund’s Phase 2 General Distribution, in which providers may receive up to 2% of their reported revenue from patient care.
The agency later released the presentation slides, as well as a step-by-step guide about the fund and a stakeholder toolkit. These and other pandemic-related materials are posted to NABH’s Covid-19 resources page.
Milliman Study Shows Individuals with Behavioral and Physical Health Conditions Drive High Total Healthcare Costs
Individuals with behavioral health conditions in addition to physical health conditions drive high total healthcare costs even though spending for behavioral healthcare treatment among these patients is a small portion of that total spending.
That is the conclusion of a new study from actuarial and consulting firm Milliman, Inc. this week that analyzed claims data for 21 million commercially insured individuals. The Path Forward for mental health and substance use, a private-sector initiative to spur market-based improvements in behavioral health treatment, commissioned the study. The initiative receives funding from the Mental Health Treatment and Research Institute LLC, a tax-exempt subsidiary of The Bowman Family Foundation.
According to the report, 5.7% of the entire study population—high-cost patients with both behavioral and physical health conditions—accounted for 44% of all healthcare spending. Meanwhile 50% of patients with behavioral health conditions had less than $68 of total annual spending for behavioral treatment.
“This is a tragedy,” Henry Harbin, M.D., a psychiatrist and advisor to The Path Forward, said in news release about the study’s findings. “And now we know this population accounts for more than half of our total healthcare spending,” he continued. “Tremendous savings and improved outcomes are achievable if these individuals who deserve care are identified early and provided with prompt evidence-based behavioral treatment.”
The report is intended to provide a baseline for estimating the effects of Covid-19 on behavioral healthcare.
CDC Report Shows 93,000 Americans Died from Excessive Alcohol Use from 2011-2015
An average of 255 Americans die from excessive drinking every day, shortening their lives by an average of 29 years, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
A recent Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, or MMWR, from the federal public health agency showed excessive alcohol use was responsible for about 93,000 deaths and 2.7 million “YPLL,” or years of potential lives lost, during 2011-2015. The majority of these alcohol-attributable deaths involved males, and about four in five deaths among adults aged 65 or older was nearly double that among adults aged 20-34 years, the findings showed.
The report noted some recommendations from the Community Preventive Services Task Force that could reduce both alcohol-attributable deaths and YPLL, such as increasing alcohol taxes and regulating the number and concentration of alcohol outlets.
GAO Examines Medicaid Coverage for SUD Peer Support Services and Eating Disorders in the Military
A recent study from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) found that 37 states covered peer support services for adults with substance use disorders (SUDs) in their Medicaid programs in 2018.
GAO researchers analyzed Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) Payment and Access Commission data for the report. The findings noted that officials from the three states GAO reviewed—Colorado, Missouri, and Oregon—reported that their Medicaid programs offered peer support services as a complement, rather than an alternative, to clinical treatment for SUD.
Separately, GAO also released a report on eating disorders in the U.S. military, which reviewed how the U.S. Defense Department (DOD) screens and provides treatment for eating disorders. That report showed that with DOD health coverage, service members and their dependents can receive specialized care for eating disorders through civilian providers working in 166 eating disorder facilities across 32 states. Of those facilities, more than three-quarters provide treatment to both adult and child and adolescent populations.
Manatt Health Releases Tracking Tool for Telehealth Coverage After Public Health Emergency
Manatt Health this week released a federal and 50-state tracking tool that highlights policy, regulatory, and legal changes related to telehealth during the Covid-19 pandemic.
The research firm released this resource a week after the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced in its physician fee schedule proposed rule that certain Medicare telehealth flexibilities during the pandemic would be made permanent, while others would be temporary. Manatt’s tracking tool includes a complete list of services that the proposed rule addresses.
RTI International Tracks Addiction Treatment Quality Across Time and States
A recent RTI International study found improvements in quality on most measures for addiction treatment between 2007 and 2017 but concluded that “performance on several measures remained low.”
The North Carolina-based research and technical services firm said the study’s objective was to track trends in the signs of higher-quality addiction treatment based on definitions from the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Addiction, and the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
According to the report, a greater percentage of U.S. addiction treatment facilities had attributes indicating higher quality in 2017 than in 2007, with most of the improvement occurring between 2011 and 2017.
“Nonetheless, in 2017 fewer than 50 percent of facilities offered medications for opioid use disorder; testing for hepatitis C, HIV, and STDs; self-help groups; employment assistance; and transportation assistance,” the study said.
JAMA Article Explores Outpatient Mental Health Services for Youth After Psychiatric Hospitalization
A new JAMA study found that mental health follow-up received within seven days of discharge was associated with a reduced risk of suicide among children and adolescents during the eight to 189 days after hospital discharge.
Researchers examined a cohort study of 139,694 child and adolescent inpatients in the Medicaid program and concluded that “shorter hospital stay, lack of prior mental healthcare, managed care, Black race, older age, and medical comorbidities were associated with delayed follow-up care.”
National Association of Mental Health Program Directors to Host Webinar Next Week
The National Association of Mental Health Program Directors will hold a two-part webinar series titled “Establishing and Building Bed Registry Systems” next week.
Part One will focus on understanding the essential elements of an effective statewide registry, while Part Two will highlight three different models for success in establishing and building statewide crisis service and bed registries.
Click here to register for Part One on Wednesday, Aug. 19 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET, and here to register for Part Two on Thursday, Aug. 20, also from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET.
Fact of the Week
About 25% of young adults between the ages of 18 and 24 reported they have seriously considered suicide during the Covid-19 pandemic.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.