Health Care Reform and Behavioral Health: Responding to New ...

Article b? Linda Rosenberg

All signs point t? Congress passing a comprehensive health care reform bill ?n 2009, potentially expanding health insurance coverage t? 46 million uninsured Americans. Th?? objective w?ll b? achieved through a combination ?f Medicaid eligibility expansions ?? well ?? th? creation ?f a n?w health insurance exchange ? basically a n?w health insurance market ?l??? ? f?r persons earning above 100% ?f th? Federal Poverty Level. Premiums f?r participants ?n th? exchange w?ll b? heavily subsidized b? th? federal government. In return f?r th?? expansion ?f coverage, Congress w?ll b? seeking opportunities t? introduce greater provider accountability ?nd consumer responsibility ?nt? th? health care system, wh?l? promoting initiatives wh??h increase efficiency ?nd reduce medical errors.

S?n?? many wh? receive care ?n CBHOs ?r? low income uninsured (?r underinsured) individuals, CBHOs ?nd ?th?r community providers stand t? greatly benefit fr?m coverage expansions. B?t, confronted w?th a once-?n-a-generation opportunity t? secure significant additional resources f?r th? public behavioral health system, many mental health organizations ?r? pursuing a federal health care reform agenda wh??h n?t ?nl? takes ?nt? consideration th? overarching principles ?f th? current health care reform debate, b?t strongly advocates f?r greater resources t? community behavioral health providers t? better equip th?m t? address th? health concerns ?f individuals w?th mental illness ?nd substance ??? disorders. Wh?t Factors ?r? Driving U??

Th? Substance Abuse ?nd Mental Health Services Administration?s state survey shows th?t persons w?th serious mental illnesses served b? public mental health agencies h??? th? HIGHEST mortality rate ?f ANY population ANYWHERE ?n America?s public health system. Specifically, th? average life expectancy f?r th?? population now rivals people living w?th HIV/AIDS. In addition, ?m?ng psychiatric patients, th? probability ?f dying ?? 55% higher f?r patients diagnosed ?? having substance ??? disorders th?n ?m?ng those without a substance ??? diagnosis.

Provider Accountability In order t? ?t?? th? predicted cost growth ?n coming years, both th? Obama Administration ?nd Congress ?r? committed t? promoting evidenced-based practices ?nd increasing provider accountability. Th?? trend ?? reflected ?n n?w federal commitments ?f billion f?r comparative effectiveness research ?nd billion t? encourage th? adoption ?nd utilization ?f electronic health records. Both ?f th??? initiatives ?r? based ?n several themes ?f th? current health care debate: a.) provider accountability f?r clinical outcomes; b.) systemic application ?f evidenced-based interventions, c.) reduced reimbursement f?r sub-optimal outcomes, ?nd d.) specific reporting ?f detailed encounter data.

T? h?l? community behavioral health providers prepare f?r a n?w era ?f accountability ?n health care wh?l? attempting t? stem th? mortality rates cited above, w? ?r? pursuing four priority initiatives:

Mental Health/Substance U?? Disorders Included ?n Benefit Packages In th? Exchange L?k? th? Massachusetts health care reform program, th? Obama Administration endorses ?n ???r???h th?t finances private health insurance f?r low income uninsured individuals via a health insurance exchange. Many private insurance companies, such ?? Blue Cross/Blue Shield ?nd Aetna, w??ld participate ?n th?? n?w program/health insurance market ?l???. Many mental health organizations seek t? ensure: mental health ?nd substance abuse benefits ?r? ??rt ?f ?n? nationwide minimum benefit package; comprehensive parity ?? applied t? ?ll benefit packages offered ?n th? exchange ?r connector; enhanced case management m??t b? provided t? n?w enrollees w?th cognitive impairments t? h?l? th?m navigate th? exchange/connector.

Federal Status f?r Behavioral Health OrganizationsA n?w federal definition f?r Federally Qualified Behavioral Health Centers (FQBHC) th?t w??ld a) establish federal status f?r CBHOs wh? volunteer t? meet th? standards ?f ?n FQBHC, b) provide a definition f?r such ?n entity th?t clearly identifies treatment objectives ?nd updates th? minimum core services required, ?nd c) establish clearly-defined national standards f?r th?? entity. In return f?r th?? n?w federal status, providers working within FQBHCs w?ll b? q???t??n?d t? meet n?w provider accountability standards (?? mentioned previously).

SMI Healthcare Home Demo t? Support Co-Location ?f Primary Care ?n CBHOsThe Mental Illness Chronic Care Improvement Act ?f 2009 w?? introduced ?n th? Senate (S. 1136) ?n M?? 21, 2009 b? Senator Debbie Stabenow ?nd ?n th? House ?n June 26, 2009 (H.R. 3065) b? Representative Janice Schakowsky. Th?? bill w??ld ?m?ng many ?th?r things, co-locate primary care capacity ?n Community Mental Health Centers ?nd ?th?r community-based mental health ?nd substance abuse providers. Th?? integrated treatment ???r???h ?? aimed squarely ?t reducing th? mortality ?nd morbidity rates ?m?ng clients ?n th? public behavioral health system. Wh?l? mental health organizations h??? b??n ?bl? t? engineer a n?w million SAMHSA program ?n 2008 w?th a similar structure ?nd treatment goals, th?? demo, targeted t? Medicaid beneficiaries, w?ll more directly impact th? single l?rg??t purchaser ?f mental health ?nd addiction disorders.

Inclusion ?f CBHOs ?n Federal HIT Funding InitiativesThe Health Information Technology f?r Economic ?nd Clinical Health Act (HITECH Act) w?? enacted ?? ??rt ?f th? economic recovery bill passed b? Congress earlier th?? year. It m?k?? a n?w billion Medicare ?nd Medicaid reimbursement system t? h?l? physicians, hospitals ?nd Community Mental Health Centers b?? ?nd maintain health information technology f?r th? purpose ?f widespread adoption ?nd utilization ?f electronic health records. Although psychiatrists m?? access th??? incentive payments, CBHOs, ?? facilities, ?r? n?t eligible f?r th?? funding. Many mental health organizations ?r? seeking inclusion ?f CBHOs ?n ?n? federal HIT initiatives t? ensure th?t individuals w?th mental illnesses ?nd addictions h??? access t? th? benefits ?f HIT via th? providers th?t serve th?m.

Ab??t th? Author

Linda Rosenberg ?? th? president ?nd CEO ?f th? National Council f?r Community Behavioral Healthcare. TNC specializes ?n lobbying f?r research toward th? diagnosis ?nd treatment ?f mental illness ?nd ?l?? achieving health care reform. Lean more ?t http://www.thenationalcouncil.org.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 5th, 2011 at 2:45 pm and is filed under Mental Health. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.blisz.us/health-care-reform-and-behavioral-health-responding-to-new-demands-and-emerging-health-crises/

full tilt poker full tilt poker act sesame street williams syndrome true grit progressive insurance