CEO Update 203
Reminder: NABH’s Second AI Survey Deadline is Due Monday!
NABH continues to explore how our members use Artificial Intelligence (AI), and our AI survey earlier this year identified Care Quality, Business Operations, and Workforce Solutions as our members’ priority areas.
As follow-up to our first survey, we ask you to complete this brief follow-up survey to help us delve deeper into members’ AI practices, which will help refine our advocacy efforts on this important issue.
Please complete the survey by this coming Monday, Oct. 7.
HHS and Industry Leaders to Form Joint Task Force on AI & Cybersecurity
HHS, industry leaders, and the Health Sector Coordinating Council Cybersecurity Working Group will soon launch a joint task force to examine the cybersecurity implications of AI, the news publication Inside Health Policy (IHP) reported recently.
According to the story, Micky Tripathi, Ph.D., who leads HHS’ health information technology office, confirmed to IHP that staff from HHS’ Deputy Secretary’s Office and Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response are engaged in the task force on AI and cybersecurity.
Greg Garcia, executive director of the Health Sector Coordinating Council Cybersecurity Working Group, told IHP that it’s uncertain whether the task force will produce a white paper, list of best practices, or some other resource. The task force is expected to discuss the implications of AI with different healthcare sectors in the next six to 12 months, the story reported.
In related news, Politico reported today, Friday, Oct. 4 that HHS Deputy Secretary Andrea Palm said she expects to release a new AI strategy in January to comply with President Joe Biden’s executive order on AI practices. Palm also discussed how she intends to manage the more than 150 ways AI is used at the agency and what worries her most about the technology.
OIG Report Says Medicare & Medicaid Enrollees in High-Need Areas May Lack Access to Medications for OUD
HHS’ Office of Inspector General (OIG) recently published a report that found while the Centers for Medicaid & Medicaid Services (CMS) has taken several steps in recent years to increase medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) access, many Medicare and Medicaid enrollees do not receive MOUD.
According to the report, hundreds of counties lack office-based buprenorphine providers and opioid treatment programs; in counties that have appropriate providers, they often do not treat Medicare or Medicaid enrollees.
Meanwhile, the OIG found that the lack of providers might be due to Medicare Advantage prior-authorization requirements, low Medicaid reimbursement rates, and inadequate public information about MOUD provider locations.
The OIG recommends that CMS geographically target efforts to increase providers treating Medicare and Medicaid enrollees in high-need counties; work with states to assess whether Medicaid reimbursement rates are sufficient to recruit and retain enough providers; and work with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to develop and maintain a list of active office-based buprenorphine providers.
National Academy of Medicine to Focus on Mental Health and SUD in Upcoming Annual Meeting
The National Academy of Medicine (NAM) will host a symposium titled “Bridging Science, Practice, and Policy to Advance Mental Health” on Monday, Oct. 21.
That session will feature panel discussions on the social drivers that affect mental health and substance use, emerging science and innovative therapies, and equitable access to mental healthcare.
The two-day event – which will be held both virtually and in person at the National Academy of Sciences Building in Washington, D.C. – will include Interest Group sessions on the meeting’s first day, Sunday, Oct. 20. Those sessions will bring together NAM members from a variety of disciplines to engage and convene on the most current topics affecting science, medicine, technology, and health.
Click here to learn about registration and additional meeting details.
Register for Our November Webinar on Using Publicly Available Data in Health Plan Negotiations
Please join NABH for a webinar on Thursday, Nov. 14, 2024 to learn about using hospital data effectively in your negotiations with health plans.
The webinar will feature Erica K. Fox, M.B.A., vice president of business development and managed care contracting at Perimeter Healthcare. A member of NABH’s Managed Care Committee, Fox will review the use of publicly available data from hospitals, such as payer-specific negotiated rates and standard charges for all payers and plans, to negotiate contracts with health plans.
Fox has more than 25 years of senior leadership experience in the behavioral health sector. Prior to her current role, she served as the business development director at Peachford Hospital, a Universal Health Services facility. Fox earned her undergraduate degree from Michigan State University, where she received a dual degree in Communications and Spanish. She later earned a master’s degree in healthcare administration from Loyola University Chicago.
Register here for this hourlong webinar that will begin at 1 p.m. on Nov. 14.
Please Submit Data to NABH’s Denial-of-Care Portal
We urge all NABH members to join those already submitting data to our Denial-of-Care Portal.
We are beginning to use aggregated portal data to illustrate and compare prior authorization practices for commercial, Medicare Advantage, and Medicaid managed care denials.
Policymakers have expressed particular interest in our aggregate estimate on days of uncompensated charity care, as well as the length of delayed health plan responses to prior-authorization requests.
To support this advocacy push, we strongly encourage all NABH members to submit data to the portal. Please contact NABH Associate Manager for Congressional Affair Emily Wilkins with questions about the data metrics that we are collecting and/or the data-submission process.
Fact of the Week
Fewer than half (43.8%) of 1,028 U.S. jails surveyed nationwide provided any medication for opioid use disorder, and only 12.8% made these available to anyone with the disorder, according to a National Institute on Drug Abuse-supported study published in JAMA Network Open.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.