NABH 2023 Annual Meeting is Approaching: Be Sure You’re Registered!
NABH’s 2023 Annual Meeting—
Securing the Promise of Parity—is a little more than two weeks away!
Please review our online
preliminary program, learn about this year’s
speakers, view the list of
exhibitors and sponsors,
register for the meeting, and
reserve your hotel room, if you haven’t done so yet.
We look forward to seeing you in Washington!
U.S. Surgeon General Releases Advisory on Social Media and Youth Mental Health
U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, M.D. this week released
Social Media and Youth Mental Health, a new advisory that shows while social media may offer some benefits, there are “ample indicators” that social media can pose a risk of harm to the mental health and well-being of children and adolescents.
The advisory notes that social-media use by young people is nearly universal, with up to 95% of young people ages 13-17 reporting using a social media platform and more than a third saying they use social media “almost constantly.”
“The most common question parents ask me is, ‘Is social media safe for my kids?’” Murthy said in a news release about the advisory. “The answer is that we don’t have enough evidence to say it’s safe, and in fact, there is growing evidence that social media use is associated with harm to young people’s mental health,” he continued. “Children are exposed to harmful content on social media, ranging from violent and sexual content, to bullying and harassment. And for too many children, social media use is compromising their sleep and valuable in-person time with family and friends,” he added. “We are in the middle of a national youth mental health crisis, and I am concerned that social media is an important driver of that crisis – one that we must urgently address.”
Murthy’s office reported that adolescents spending more than three hours per day on social media face double the risk of experiencing poor mental health outcomes, such as symptoms of depression and anxiety; yet one 2021 survey of teenagers found that, on average, they spend 3.5 hours a day on social media.
NIMH Finds Youth Suicide Rates Increased During the COVID-19 Pandemic
The National Institute of Mental Health this week released
research that shows 5,568 youth died by suicide during the first 10 months of the COVID-19 pandemic, which was higher than the expected number of deaths had the pandemic not occurred.
Higher-than-expected suicide rates were found a few months into the pandemic, starting in July 2020. According to the research, the increase in suicide deaths varied significantly by sex, age, race and ethnicity, and suicide method.
For this period, researchers also found higher-than-expected suicide deaths among males, preteens aged 5–12 years, young adults aged 18–24 years, non-Hispanic American Indian or Alaskan Native youth, and non-Hispanic Black youth as compared with before the pandemic. Suicide deaths involving firearms were also higher than expected, the study showed.
CMS Reports to Congress on SUD Planning Grant Implementation
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released the
Initial Report to Congress that the
SUPPORT Act requires.
The 2018 law directs CMS to release three reports to Congress, and the one released this week provides details on states awarded planning grants under the
SUPPORT Act, the criteria used to select these states, and initial activities proposed or carried out under the planning grants.
Findings in the report are from the first 13 months of the planning period of the demonstration: Sept. 30, 2019-Oct. 31, 2020.
Now Open: HRSA’s Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program
The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) announced this week that the agency’s Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (STAR LRP) application is open now through mid-July.
Anyone who is a behavioral health clinician or support worker, clinical support staff, or trained in substance use disorders may apply to the STAR LRP and receive up to $250,000 in loan repayment. In exchange, loan recipients must work full time for six years in a STAR LRP-approved facility.
The application process ends on Thursday, July 13 at 7:30 p.m. ET. Click
here to learn more.
Also this week, HRSA announced a grant program for professionals focused on behavioral health workforce education and training for children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth. The grant’s purpose is to address the behavioral health needs of children, adolescents, and transitional-aged youth by increasing the supply and distribution of behavioral health providers in rural and underserved communities. Click
here to view the grant opportunity.
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!
We are still seeking data from additional members to support advocacy on health plan denials and prior-authorization timeliness. If you are a new participant, please e-mail NABH Administrative Coordinator
Emily Wilkins for support.
Fact of the Week
A new
study published in
Health Affairs found that although almost all insurance plans covered immediate-release buprenorphine in 2021 (with a general trend of decreasing prior authorization requirements and quantity limits since 2017), only two payers had relatively low coverage of extended-release buprenorphine, with only 46% of commercial plans and only 19% of Medicare Advantage plans covering this formulation. The study authors recommended that policymakers and researchers “concerned with buprenorphine insurance barriers should shift their attention to extended-release buprenorphine.”
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.
