CEO Update | 35
CMS Reports Healthcare Spending Growth Slowed Last Year
Total nominal U.S. healthcare spending increased 3.9 percent to $3.5 trillion in 2017, slowing down from growth of 4.8 percent in 2016, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) reported this week.
The new statistics were published in an article in Health Affairs, which reported that the rate of growth in 2017 was similar to the increases between 2008 and 2013, which preceded a faster growth rate between 2014 and 2015—a period that included insurance coverage expansion and large increases in prescription drug spending.
According to the analysis, nearly all major sources of insurance and sponsors of healthcare experienced slower growth last year. Meanwhile, the share of gross domestic product devoted to healthcare spending was 17.9 percent in 2017, similar to the share in 2016.
Behavioral Health IT Coalition Sends Letter to CMS
NABH signed on to a letter this week to CMS Administrator Seema Verma that applauded the recently signed SUPPORT Act and recommended three behavioral health IT proposals intended to enhance Medication Assisted Therapy (MAT) initiatives.
The letter from the Behavioral Health IT Coalition noted that mental health and addiction treatment providers participating in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation (CMMI) MAT bundled payment models outlined in the new law must show e-prescribing capacity. It also said behavioral health facilities must provide evidence that they can exchange clinical data successfully with medical-surgical providers in order to be eligible for funding through these demonstrations. The final recommendation said CMS should incorporate health IT financial incentives into each of the three MAT demonstrations to urge behavioral health and substance use disorder (SUD) providers to adopt 205 certified electronic health record technology.
Mental Health America, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, and the American Psychological Association were among the groups that added their association names to the letter.
RAND Report Analyzes Heroin-Assisted Treatment and Supervised Drug Consumption Sites
A new report from RAND Corp. examines how four countries use two interventions that the United States does not apply to address opioid use disorder: heroin-assisted treatment (HAT) and supervised consumption sites (SCSs).
“Give the severity of the opioid crisis, there is urgency to evaluate potential tools that might reduce its impact and save lives,” the report said. “This working paper is part of a series of reports assessing the evidence on and arguments made about HAT and SCSs and examining some of the issues associated with implement in the United States.”
JAMA Study Examines Association Between Psychotic Experiences and Risk of Suicide
Individuals with psychotic experiences are at increased risk of suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide death, according to a new JAMA study.
Recent research has shown a particularly strong association between psychotic experiences and suicidal behavior. This study’s purpose was to provide a quantitative synthesis of the literature examining the longitudinal association between psychotic experiences and subsequent “suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and suicide deaths in the general population.”
MACPAC Releases 2018 Edition of MACStats: Medicaid and CHIP Data Book
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) this week released the December 2018 edition of its MACStats: Medicaid and CHIP Data Book, which has updated data on national and state Medicaid and CHIP enrollment, spending, benefits, and more.
This year’s edition shows total enrollment growth in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) decreased 2.2 percent nationally from July 2017 to July 2018.
Former NABH Board Chair Debra Osteen to Retire from UHS in January
Debra Osteen, president of Universal Health Services’ (UHS) Behavioral Health Division, will retire effective Jan. 31, 2019 after 35 years with the company, UHS announced in a news release on Dec. 6.
Osteen—who served as then-NAPHS Board Chair in 2004 and again in 2017— has led the King of Prussia, Pa.-based healthcare company’s behavioral division since 1999. Under her direction, the division expanded to more than 300 facilities from 23 and became the largest system of freestanding behavioral health facilities in the United States.
“Debbie has been a leader in our industry a terrific supporter of NABH,” said Mark Covall, NABH President and CEO. “I will miss her active involvement and commitment to the NABH team—and to me personally.”
Register Now for the 2019 NABH Annual Meeting
In January, NABH will post the 2019 Annual Meeting preliminary program on the NABH website and send NABH Annual Meeting Alerts to apprise NABH members and other Annual Meeting attendees regularly about the Annual Meeting.
The broadcast e-mail NABH Annual Meeting Alerts will include updated information about speakers and programming, and will replace a printed preliminary program. All meeting attendees will receive a final printed preliminary program on site at the Annual Meeting.
If you haven’t done so yet, please visit NABH’s Annual Meeting homepage today to register and reserve your hotel room for the 2019 NABH Annual Meeting — Behavioral Healthcare: Improving Coordination, Collaboration, Integration. We look forward to seeing you at the Mandarin Oriental Washington, D.C. from March 18-20, 2019!
For questions or comments about CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond.