Congress Returns to Urgent Funding Deadlines and Full 2024 Agenda
Congress returned to Washington this week facing two deadlines to fund all federal government operations as it works to clear some policy priorities – including a healthcare package with the
SUPPORT Act’s reauthorization – ahead of the 2024 campaign season.
In early January, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) agreed to topline funding figures, allowing congressional appropriations leaders to begin the process of negotiating each of the spending allocations for all 12 spending bills.
Congress has until Jan. 19 before the first government funding deadline for the U.S. Agriculture, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, Transportation, and Veterans Affairs Departments. All other departments, including HHS, are funded through Feb. 2. There is a growing likelihood that Congress will have to pass a short-term continuing resolution (CR) to allow lawmakers to agree on funding, although conservative House members are strongly opposed to that action and threaten to derail progress.
Congressional leaders have indicated a healthcare package will likely be included in the first funding bill, due to the urgency in addressing several expired health programs and funding provisions for physician payments. This package will include several healthcare bills the House and Senate have passed
.
NABH continues to advocate strongly for the
SUPPORT Act’
s reauthorization with new provisions and opposes the
Modernizing Opioid Treatment Access Act (MOTAA), which only the Senate HELP Committee has passed and the House has not considered.
MOTAA proponents are strongly advocating for this bill to be included in the final package, and NABH and coalition partners are working with both congressional chambers to prevent this effort. This advocacy includes working with members of the Senate HELP Committee who oppose MOTAA to continue raising concerns with their Senate leadership; contacting members who serve on the Senate Judiciary Committee; contacting other senators who share concerns with law enforcement officials about implementing this legislation; as well as contacting members of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and House Judiciary Committee. House Energy & Commerce Republicans remain strongly opposed to including MOTAA in any legislative package. NABH continues to emphasize to Members of Congress that there is no consensus on MOTAA and these policies need more vetting.
Other health policies that lawmakers might fold into a larger legislative package include addressing expired telehealth regulations, Medicare’s physician pay cut, transparency measures, reporting requirements for insurers, hospitals and pharmacy benefit managers, and site-neutral payment provisions. In addition, funds for graduate medical education, community health centers, and special diabetes programs sunset on Jan. 19, and certain Medicaid disproportionate share hospital cuts are delayed until that date.
NABH will continue to support provisions important to our members and fight to prevent bad policies from becoming law. Please see next week’s edition of
CEO Update for the latest information.
NABH Education and Research Foundation to Host Workforce Webinar on Jan. 23
Please join us for the NABH Research and Education Foundation’s first webinar,
Redesigning the Present and Future of Behavioral Healthcare, on
Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024 from 2 p.m. – 3 p.m. ET.
Foundation President Donald Parker, who serves as president of Behavioral Health Care Transformation Services for Hackensack Meridian Health, will co-lead the webinar with workforce consultant Beth Kuhn of
Stonegate Strategies.
Kuhn has more than 30 years of workforce experience – with special interest and expertise in behavioral healthcare workforce development – and has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations, including in her roles as commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Workforce Investment and as Vermont’s director of workforce development. Kuhn’s accomplishments include creating the Strategic Initiative for Transformation Employment, or
SITE, a statewide model designed to bridge the gap between recovery and workforce participation for individuals active in their recovery from substance use issues.
During this interactive webinar, participants are encouraged to ask questions of Parker and Kuhn, who will provide an overview of existing behavioral healthcare workforce challenges; explain why America’s current workforce structure doesn’t meet present or future workforce needs; suggest redesign strategies, present examples of current successes; and offer ideas about how to leverage current options to help providers develop a more robust workforce system.
Please click
here to register for this free webinar and share the link with members of your teams!
CMS Administrator Brooks-LaSure to Outline Agency’s 2024 Priorities in Stakeholder Call
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Chiquita Brooks-LaSure will host a stakeholder call to discuss the agency’s 2023 accomplishments, 2024 priorities, and
CMS Strategic Plan on Tuesday, Jan. 23.
CMS Principal Administrator and Chief Operating Officer Jon Blum and other members of the CMS leadership team will also serve as presenters during the hourlong call, which will begin at 1 p.m. ET. Click
here to register.
CMS Releases State Plan Summaries for American Rescue Plan of 2021
CMS has released state spending plan summaries for a section of the
American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARP) that provides information about the amount of money spent on activities to enhance, expand, or strengthen community-based services.
NABH members might find the report useful because it includes information about state spending on efforts related to workforce, technology, education, behavioral healthcare support for youth, housing and homelessness, and more.
Click
here for the full report and to read your state’s summary.
Save the Date for the NABH 2024 Annual Meeting!
Registration will open soon for the NABH 2024 Annual Meeting,
The Future of Behavioral Healthcare, at the Salamander Washington, DC from
May 13-15, 2024. Please plan to join us!
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:
- 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.
- 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.
Fact of the Week
About 52,000 Medicare enrollees experienced an opioid overdose in 2022; however, only 18% of Medicare patients with opioid use disorder received medication-assisted treatment, according to a
report from the HHS Office of the Inspector General.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.
