Skip to main content

You’re not alone. Call 988 to connect to the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Join Us    |    Contact

CEO Update 180

Federal Lawmakers Examine U.S. Mental Health Crisis in Committee Hearings

The influential Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) and House Ways and Means Committees learned about the nation’s persistent mental health and substance use crises in separate hearings on Capitol Hill this week. On Tuesday, senators heard from five expert witnesses, including Mitch Prinstein, Ph.D., chief science officer at the American Psychological Association; Michelle Durham, M.D., M.P.H., vice chair of education in the psychiatry department and clinical associate professor of psychiatry and pediatrics at Boston Medical Center, Boston University School of Medicine; and Sara Goldsby, M.S.W., M.P.H., director of South Carolina’s Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services. Senate HELP Committee Chairwoman Patty Murray (D-Wash.) acknowledged that the Covid-19 pandemic has worsened the country’s existing mental health and substance use crises and emphasized more than once that the behavioral healthcare workforce is stretched too thin. Murray also said it’s time to increase access to behavioral healthcare services. “If we’re going to respond to the behavioral health issues the pandemic has made worse … that will take legislative action,” Murray said. In a hearing the following day, members of the House Ways and Means Committee heard from experts representing UConn Health, the Legal Action Center, and the North Carolina Division on Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Substance Abuse Services. The Senate Finance Committee will host a hearing on protecting youth mental health on Tuesday, Feb. 8 at 10 a.m. ET. Click here to watch the hearing next week.

CMS Releases Reminder About ‘Extraordinary Circumstance’ Exception to Quality Data Reporting

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) has released a notice to remind healthcare providers that CMS offers a process for hospitals or facilities to request exceptions to the reporting of quality data, including data for electronic clinical quality measures, for one or more quarters when providers experience an extraordinary circumstance beyond their control. Click here to read the announcement, which also includes information about performance-related extraordinary circumstance exception requests and promoting interoperability hardship requests.

Satcher Health Leadership Institute Adds ‘Behavioral Health’ Category and Indicators to Health Equity Tracker

The Satcher Health Leadership Institute (SHLI) has expanded its Health Equity Tracker (HET) outcomes to include a “behavioral health” category and six corresponding indicators. Named for David Satcher, M.D., the nation’s 16th U.S. surgeon general, the SHLI works to transform health equity through policy, leadership development, and research as it focuses on three priority areas: the political determinants of health, health system transformation, and mental and behavioral health. The six indicators for the new behavioral health category include: frequent mental distress, depression, suicide, illicit opioid use, non-medical drug use, and alcohol use (excessive drinking). Click here to learn more.

National Academy of Medicine Releases Discussion Proceedings for Stigma of Addiction Summit

The National Academy of Medicine has released the discussion proceedings of the Stigma of Addiction Summit that the Academy held last summer. The summit’s six sessions cover topics including how stigma presents itself and interventions to prevent it. The new publication also outlines priorities to guide future actions.

Register Today for National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week: March 21-27, 2022

The National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) invites organizations to participate in National Drug and Alcohol Facts Week (NDAFW), a national health observance meant to empower teens and young adults about making informed decisions about drugs, alcohol, and addiction. NIDA has developed five steps to hosting an NDAFW event and created lesson plans and other materials for educators, counselors, and prevention specialists. Click here to learn how to register your organization’s event online.

Reminder: NABH Denial-of-Care Portal is Open to Members

NABH’s Denial-of-Care Portal is available for members to provide information about their experiences with managed care organizations that impose barriers to care through insurance-claim denials. NABH’s Managed Care Committee worked for more than a year to develop the Denial-of-Care Portal as a way to collect specific data on insurers who deny care—often without regard for parity or the effects on patients. This NABH member-only, survey-like tool allows users to add the name of a managed care organization, type of plan, level of care, type of care (mental health or substance use disorder), duration of approved treatment, duration of unapproved treatment, criteria used to deny a claim, and more. The portal allows members to submit individual examples of claim denials or upload multiple entries via Excel. It also includes sections on appeals and physician participation. In time, the tool could be a valuable resource for the NABH team’s advocacy efforts. Please e-mail Emily Wilkins, NABH’s administrative coordinator, if you have questions about the portal.

Fact of the Week

U.S. universities are developing creative ways to provide mental health resources on their campuses. For example, the University of California-Davis embeds counselors in student groups such as the Cross-Cultural Center and the LGBTQIA Resource Center, while Stanford University’s Bridge Peer Counseling Center offers anonymous counseling 24/7 to students who are more comfortable speaking with a trained fellow student. For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.