Becerra Renews COVID-19 Public Health Emergency Through May 11
U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra on Thursday renewed the nation’s COVID-19 public health emergency (PHE) status for another 90 days through May 11.
“Based on current trends regarding COVID-19, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is planning for this to be the final renewal and for the COVID-19 PHE to end on May 11, 2023,” Becerra wrote to the nation’s governors on Feb. 9. “Rather than 60 days’ notice, I am providing 90 days’ notice before the COVID-19 PHE ends to give you and your communities ample time to transition.”
Becerra’s
letter also noted that the Biden administration’s whole-of-government approach to combatting the deadly virus has helped transition the country away from the emergency phase. Since Omicron peaked at the end of January 2022, daily COVID-19 reported cases are down 92%; COVID-19 deaths have declined by more than 80%; and new COVID-19 hospitalizations are down nearly 80%, Becerra’s letter noted.
NIMH to Host Webinar Next Week on the Opioid Crisis and HEALing Communities Study
The National Institute on Mental Health (NIMH) will host a webinar next Tuesday to discuss how the HEALing Communities Study (HCS) is testing the prevention and treatment of opioid misuse in communities that the nation’s opioid crisis has hit hardest.
Sharon L. Walsh, Ph.D., professor of behavioral science, psychiatry, pharmacology and pharmaceutical sciences at the University of Kentucky’s Colleges of Medicine and Pharmacy, will describe how the HCS has begun to expand access to evidence-based care, improve data availability and timeliness, address social determinants of health, reduce stigma through public health communications campaigns, and modify relevant policies.
Walsh also serves as director of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research and the Substance Use Disorder Priority Research Area. She is the principal investigator of the HCS at the University of Kentucky. The
HCS tests the integration of prevention, overdose treatment, and medication-based treatment in select communities.
Click
here to register for the free webinar, which will begin at 2 p.m. ET on Tuesday, Feb. 14.
SAMHSA Announces Funding Opportunity for Assertive Community Treatment Programs for Youth and Adults with SMI
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) this week announced it will award more than $5 million to establish or expand and maintain Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) programs for transition-aged youth and adults with serious mental illness (SMI).
The program’s purpose is to improve behavioral health outcomes for individuals by reducing rates of hospitalization, mortality, substance use, homelessness, and involvement with the criminal justice system.
Click
here to learn more about the opportunity. Applications are due by Monday, April 10.
NIDA Reports Increased Activity in ‘Blue Lotus’ Drug
The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) reported this week that, in response to mentions of blue lotus for the first time from a Rapid Street Reporting (RSR) site visit in Austin, the substance has experienced steady activity in the past three years, with activity peaking in early and late 2022.
Also known as Nymphae caerulea, blue lotus is a water lily primarily found in East Africa and the Arabian Peninsula. The flower contains aphorphine, a dopamine agonist, and is sold primarily as tea extracts or incense.
Click
here to learn more about blue lotus and the RSR team’s other recent findings in NIDA’s Feb. 10 newsletter.
In Case You Missed It: NABH Education and Research Foundation and Manatt Produce Issue Brief on Telehealth Services in PHP and IOP
The NABH Education and Research Foundation on Feb. 1 released an issue brief that shows how telehealth services effectively augment traditional partial hospitalization programs (PHP) and intensive outpatient programs (IOP).
The telehealth issue brief is the first resource from the NABH Education and Research Foundation, which worked with NABH members and Manatt to compile and evaluate data to measure the impact that telehealth services have had on access and outcomes.
NABH urges its members to read the issue brief and share it with others. The association has also created a social media toolkit with shareable graphics that highlight key research from the study. Members can access the issue brief and social media toolkit on the NABH Education and Research Foundation’s Resources
page.
Manatt will host a webinar about the issue brief’s findings
on Wednesday, March 1 at noon ET. Click
here to learn more and register for the free webinar.
The NABH Education & Research Foundation fields independent studies and partners with other
organizations to identify and develop best practices and improve NABH members’ ability to support the country’s behavioral health needs.
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.
Details Coming Soon for the NABH 2023 Annual Meeting
Please plan to 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). Details coming soon.
Fact of the Week
Medicare Advantage (MA) enrollment increased by 22.2 million beneficiaries, or 337%, from 2006 through 2022, while traditional Medicare enrollment declined by 1.0 million, or −2.9% during that period, according to a study published this week in the journal
Health Affairs. The increase in MA enrollment and penetration “indicates that beneficiaries are reforming Medicare with their feet,” the study’s authors wrote.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.
