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White House Proposes Changes IMD Exclusion in 2021 Budget
The White House on Monday released a $4.8 trillion budget for 2021 that would modify Medicaid’s Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion to provide states with flexibility to provide inpatient mental health services to beneficiaries with serious mental illness (SMI). The budget requests $94.5 billion for HHS, a 10-percent decrease from the 2020 enacted level. Although Congress is likely to reject President Trump’s proposal, the budget is significant for outlining the president’s top policy priorities as he seeks re-election in November. Notably for NABH, those priorities address mental health and…
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ONDCP Issues 2020 National Drug Control Strategy and Treatment Plan
The Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) has issued its 2020 National Drug Control Strategy (Strategy) and accompanying National Treatment Plan (NTP) that includes action items for federal agencies and external stakeholders to increase access to care and close the addiction treatment gap. The Strategy is presented using the domains of prevention, treatment and recovery, and supply-side strategies for reducing the availability and consumption of illicit drugs. These domains are established as ‘pillars’ that undergird the federal initiatives of expanding the early intervention, treatment and recovery infrastructure; improving the…
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CDC Reports U.S. Drug Overdose Death Rate Down, Opioid Overdose Death Rate Up in 2018
The age-adjusted rate of U.S. drug overdose deaths in 2018 was 4.6% lower than the rate in 2017, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported Thursday. New data from the National Vital Statistics System also show there were 67,367 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2018, 4.1% fewer than the 70,237 deaths reported in 2017. Despite the decline in overall drug overdose deaths, there was a 10% increase in the rate of drug overdose deaths involving synthetic opioids other than methadone, such as fentanyl, in 2018 compared…
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NABH Comments on CMS’ New Survey and Certification Process for Psychiatric Hospitals
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) on Monday announced it has streamlined the process to survey the nation’s psychiatric hospitals to review for compliance with participation requirements in one comprehensive survey. Beginning in March, CMS will send psychiatric hospitals one survey to evaluate their compliance with both general hospital and psychiatric hospital participation requirements. CMS is not making any changes to the special psychiatric Conditions of Participation (CoPs) in this process. Under this change, CMS will move the interpretive guidelines from State Operations Manual (SOM)…
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NABH Urges Oversight Hearings on Parity Following GAO Report
WASHINGTON, Dec. 18, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A key finding in a new Government Accountability Office (GAO) report on government oversight of compliance with parity underscores the need for federal lawmakers to proactively investigate the work of employer-sponsored group plans and ensure they are complying with the landmark 2008 parity law. Late last week, GAO released a 67-page report that examined and evaluated the practices, policies, and guidance from the U.S. Health and Human Services (HHS) Department and the U.S. Labor Department (DOL), the two federal offices that oversee compliance with the Paul Wellstone and Pete…
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CMS Releases Guidance on Coverage Transition for ‘Dual Eligibles’ Receiving OTP Services
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released an Informational Bulletin on Tuesday that provides guidance on coverage for Medicare and Medicaid dual-eligible beneficiaries who receive opioid treatment program (OTP) services. Revisions to the Physician Fee Schedule (CY 2020) allow for a new OTP bundled payment benefit under Medicare, which replaces Medicaid as the primary payer for OTP services for the dual-eligible population. The new benefit is effective January 1, 2020; however, not all OTP providers will have completed Medicare enrollment by that time. To assure continuity of patient…
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Milliman Report Highlights Barriers to Accessing Behavioral Healthcare Services
WASHINGTON, Nov. 20, 2019 /PRNewswire/ — A report from Milliman, Inc. about disparities between physical and behavioral healthcare for both in-network access and provider reimbursement rates underscores NABH’s position that unnecessary barriers continue to deny access to behavioral healthcare for patients who need it. The Bowman Family Foundation commissioned Milliman to produce Addiction and Mental Health vs. Physical Health: Widening disparities in network use and provider reimbursement, a 140-page report that shows the gap in disparities for employees and their families seeking mental health and addiction treatment versus treatment for physical health conditions widened…