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CEO Update 163

Please Urge Your Senators to Reauthorize the SUPPORT Act and Oppose MOTAA

As Congress returned this week for its year-end push, NABH continues to advocate for federal lawmakers to reauthorize the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment for Patients and Communities Act (SUPPORT) and oppose the Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA). The Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee has not announced a markup for these bills; however, lawmakers may act on them during the first or second week of December. As NABH outlined in a letter to Sen. Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.) on Nov. 22, the association supports efforts to reauthorize the expired provisions of the SUPPORT Act. NABH wrote in the letter that the nation’s mental health crisis requires an all-hands-on-deck approach, and that it makes no sense to limit grantees based on a facility’s tax status when many individuals who need mental health and substance use disorder services are not able to access those services. Meanwhile, in a letter to the Senate HELP Committee this week, NABH expressed our firm opposition to the MOTAA bill, which would threaten patient safety if methadone prescription would be allowed outside Opioid Treatment Programs (OTPs). Our concern reflects the complexity of this patient population, which requires comprehensive and ongoing clinical oversight that would be difficult for busy pharmacies to provide. To assure patient safety, NABH supports additional research and data collection prior to altering current methadone prescribing protections provided by OTPs. Please help NABH’s advocacy efforts by contacting Senate HELP Committee members in your region and urge their support to reauthorize the SUPPORT Act and oppose MOTAA. Thank you for your support! Please contact NABH Director for Congressional Affairs Andy Dodson if you have questions.

HHS OIG Reports Low Misuse of Medicare Part D Buprenorphine

A new report from HHS’ Office of the Inspector General (OIG) found most Medicare Part D beneficiaries prescribed buprenorphine for opioid use disorder received recommended amounts in 2022, meaning there was likely little misuse of the drug. The findings are similar to a 2021 report’s results, which led the OIG to conclude in the new review that there continues to be little risk of buprenorphine misuse among Part D enrollees. Click here to read the full report.

Bipartisan Policy Center to Host Medicare Reform Webinar on Dec. 11

The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) will explore potential solutions to improve the beneficiary experience and ensure a fiscally responsible Medicare program, which nearly 20% of Americans rely on for healthcare coverage and is estimated to become insolvent by 2031. During the discussion, BPC will release federal policy recommendations meant to enhance Medicare benefits, increase competition, establish better program management, and improve financing. The hourlong event starts at 11:30 a.m. ET. Click here to register.

NIDA to Host ‘Monitoring the Future’ Survey Data Release Webinar on Dec. 13

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) will host a webinar to discuss results from its annual Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey on Wednesday, Dec. 13. The MTF survey has measured drug and alcohol use and related attitudes among adolescent students nationwide since 1975. In it, a nationally representative sample of survey participants report their drug use behaviors across three time periods: lifetime, past year, and past month. NIDA funds the survey, which is conducted by the University of Michigan. This year, the hourlong briefing will feature Marsha Lopez, Ph.D., M.H.S., who serves as chief of the epidemiology research branch in NIDA’s Division of Epidemiology, Services and Prevention Research. The webinar will begin at 10 a.m. ET. Click here to register.

National Academies to Host Workshop that Examines Adult ADHD Diagnosis & Treatment

The National Academies’ Forum on Drug Discovery, Development and Translation and Forum on Neuroscience and Nervous System Disorders will host a workshop to explore the diagnosis and treatment of adults with Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity (ADHD) Disorder and the challenges and opportunities for drug development on Dec. 12 and 13. The workshop is intended to offer professionals who typically diagnose ADHD—such as physicians, psychologists, social workers, nurse practitioners, and other licensed counselors or therapists—as well as drug developers, researchers, and regulators, to discuss and support the public health goal of treating adults with ADHD safely and effectively. Supported partly through a grant from the Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, the workshop will be presented on Tuesday, Dec. 12 from 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. ET and on Wednesday, Dec. 13 from 8:30 a.m. – 2 p.m. ET. Click here to register.

Reminder: NABH’s Enhanced Denial-of-Care Portal is Now Available

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:
  1. 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.
  1. 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.

Save the Date for the NABH 2024 Annual Meeting!

Please mark your calendars and plan to join us at the Salamander Washington, DC from May 13-15, 2024 for next year’s NABH Annual Meeting! Fact of the Week Drug overdose deaths rose noticeably between January to June 2018 and July to December 2021 among 10- to 44-year-old girls and women who were pregnant or pregnant within the previous 12 months, according to a new study by NIDA researchers at the NIH. For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.