CEO Update 136
President Biden Names Chiquita Brooks-LaSure to Lead CMS
President Biden this week named former policy official Chiquita Brooks-LaSure, currently a managing director at Manatt Health, to lead the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
Brooks-LaSure played a significant role in directing the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) through both passage and implementation. She served previously as the deputy director for policy at the Center for Consumer Information and Insurance Oversight at CMS and earlier as the director of coverage policy at the U.S. Health and Human Services Department (HHS).
Her career began as a program examiner and lead Medicaid analyst for the Office of Management and Budget, where she coordinated Medicaid policy development for the health financing branch.
Brooks-LaSure’s nomination requires Senate approval. If she is approved to the post, Brooks-LaSure would lead a $1 trillion federal agency that oversees coverage for roughly 150 million people enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid, and the ACA.
Health Affairs Examines Changes in SUD Facilities After States Adopted IMD Waivers
A new Health Affairs study suggests that Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) waivers may be an important tool for advancing access to a full continuum of substance use disorder (SUD) treatment for Medicaid enrollees.
Researchers used data from the 2010-2018 National Survey of Substance Abuse Treatment Services and examined changes in residential and outpatient SUD treatment facilities’ acceptance of Medicaid and other types of health coverage, as well as self-pay arrangements and provision of charity care, after states adopted IMD waivers.
“Acceptance of Medicaid increased 34 percent at residential treatment facilities and 9 percent at intensive outpatient facilities two years after waiver implementation,” the study noted.
Legal Action Center Reviews Medicare Coverage for SUD Care
Medicare coverage for SUD care is “strikingly limited and out of sync with evidence-based treatment models and the current delivery system,” according to a comprehensive review of SUD benefits, service gaps, and a path to reform from the Legal Action Center.
The 45-page report tracks Medicare’s coverage of SUD benefits against accepted SUD continuum-of -care standards that the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) developed.
According to the report, the reasons for coverage gaps vary, but generally fall into the following four categories: Medicare does not authorize, as a provider-type, or reimburse most facilities that provide SUD care, specifically freestanding SUD treatment facilities that offer community-based care; Medicare does not authorize, as a provider-type, or allow billing by the full range of addiction practitioners that make up a significant part of the SUD treatment workforce; Medicare does not cover certain levels of care, such as intensive outpatient and residential programs, and other levels of care that are covered do not meet the standards set out in the ASAM criteria, such as partial hospitalization programs for those with a primary diagnosis of SUD; and Medicare does not have adequate reimbursement or bundled episode of care payments that would enable beneficiaries to access the range of services they need at each ASAM level of care.
The report included recommendations for Congress and CMS, such as covering services provided in all settings in which SUD services are delivered appropriately and effectively, and applying Parity Act standards to protect beneficiaries with SUDs from discriminatory financial and other treatment limitations in Medicare.
Study Finds Link Between Covid-Related Depression and Reduced Physical Activity
New research from Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Pittsburgh, and the University of California, San Diego found that 61% of surveyed university students were at risk of clinical depression, twice the rate before the Covid-19 global pandemic.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the study found the increase in depression came with dramatic shifts in lifestyle habits.
“Disruptions to physical activity emerged as a leading risk factor for depression during the pandemic,” the study noted. “Importantly, those who maintained their exercise habits were at significantly lower risk than those who experienced the large declines in physical activity brought on by the pandemic,” it continued. “While physical activity resumed in early summer, mental well-being did not automatically rebound.”
Register to Attend the 2021 Rx Drug Abuse & Heroin Summit
The annual Rx Drug Abuse and Heroin Summit, known as the largest annual conference that addresses America’s opioid and addiction crises, will be held virtually this year from April 5-8.
The conference will present more than 75 sessions across nine educational tracks and will cover topics ranging from prevention and treatment to public safety and technology.
For additional information, download the conference brochure, and click here to register.
Register to Attend the 6th Annual Health Population Health Payer Innovations for Medicare, Medicaid & Duals
The 6th Annual Population Health Payer Innovations for Medicaid, Medicare & Duals will host its conference virtually this year from May 18-19.
Free for hospitals, the conference will address topics such as combatting the opioid crisis, using community paramedics, and partnering clinical and analytic teams to explore value-based insurance design (VBID) models of care. Health plans that focus on Medicaid, Medicare, and dual-eligible beneficiaries, along with providers, will share best practices and how to build and manage population health programs to ensure compliance, improve outcomes, and control costs.
Click here to learn more and to register.
Save the Date: NABH 2021 Annual Meeting
NABH will host its 2021 Annual Meeting from Wednesday, Oct. 6 – Friday, Oct. 8, 2021 at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, DC.
The association re-scheduled for this later date in 2021 due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. We hope you can join us!
After 2021, NABH will host its subsequent Annual Meetings in June. Please save the date for these future NABH Annual Meetings:
- June 13-15, 2022
- June 12-14, 2023
We look forward to seeing you again in Washington!
Fact of the Week
Companies spent about $2.5 billion to treat employees’ asthma, diabetes, hypertension, mental health and substance use disorders, and back disorders during a two-year period, a new study found.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond