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Authors Posts by Jack Phillips

Jack Phillips

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Mr. Phillips is responsible to assist the association with health policy, which primarily includes member communication and advocacy with the Governor’s office, General Assembly, and state regulatory agencies. Mr. Phillips was most recently at the Pennsylvania Department of State as Director of Legislative Affairs.

Over the weekend, RCPA staff was contacted by a state representative informing us that a proposal was discussed during the current budget negotiations that would have a negative impact on children with disabilities, who currently qualify for Medical Assistance, often referred to as loophole kids. Loophole kids often come from homes with one or two working parents, and these families generally have private health care insurance coverage and are paying health insurance premiums. The proposals being discussed would add additional cost sharing and/or mandated premiums to already stretched and limited household budgets, and force people who live in poverty to choose between paying the state, and covering other monthly expenses such as food, prescriptions or rent. The proposals being discussed would impose new administrative costs for the Commonwealth, wasting state and federal Medicaid dollars on unnecessary administrative burdens. On Sunday, July 9, RCPA staff sent emails and hand delivered letters to the entire General Assembly and legislative leaders opposing any proposal that would harm Pennsylvania families by making it harder for them to qualify for and keep their health coverage.

Additionally, in its correspondences, RCPA requested that the legislature table this proposal because an important issue such as this should not be entered into during the waning days of budget negotiations. RCPA argued that these types of decisions that affect thousands of disabled Pennsylvania children should be discussed in a public hearing or in stakeholder group meetings before endangering health care benefits for the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable population.

RCPA implores providers to contact their legislators and tell them to oppose this last minute budget negotiating item, and alternatively, if they are serious about discussing this issue then hold a public hearing or stakeholder group meetings, so those who rely upon this funding can have their voices heard. Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

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The Senate has released its version of the American Health Care Act and it is worse than we feared. The Senate bill will cut Medicaid even more than the House bill in the future, putting tremendous pressure on safety-net services and providers.

But there is still time to act! The Senate is gearing up for a vote in the coming days, so NOW is the time to speak up and protect Medicaid.

unite-4-bhTaking action is easy:

  1. Dial this number: 202-224-3121
  2. Ask for your Senator.
  3. Share with them this message:
    • Your Message: I am calling to ask the Senator to vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act. Cutting Medicaid and rolling back the Medicaid expansion will have a devastating effect on people with mental illnesses and addictions who rely on Medicaid for lifesaving treatment. Please vote NO. I’m calling from [city, state, and zip] and my name is [first and last name].
  4. Call your other Senator and share the same message!

Thank you to all who have taken action on this issue so far this year. We appreciate your hard work and dedication and ask that you continue to mobilize and advocate on this critical issue! Together, we can protect and preserve Medicaid for millions of Americans in need.


 

Questions, contact Jack Phillips.

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The Pennsylvania General Assembly will be working this week to get a final budget passed by the Pennsylvania Constitution’s mandate of June 30. There are many moving pieces to this year’s budget as well as the continuing question of where legislators will get revenue to balance the budget. Please take a look at the Penn Live article written by Charles Thompson. The article gives a detailed overview of the budget negotiations as they stand right now. Questions, contact Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs.

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Until today, it was hard to imagine a bill could be worse for Americans living with addiction and mental illness than the AHCA bill passed last month by the House of Representatives.

The Senate version of the American Health Care Act purports to be a “repeal and replace” of the Affordable Care Act, but is really a draconian restructuring and gutting of Medicaid, the program that covers 20% of Americans and is one of the primary payers of addiction and mental health treatment in the U.S.

Instead of “repeal and replace,” it is “wreck and wreak havoc.”

The bill’s supporters have said that their newest proposal would “soften the landing” for Americans who will lose Medicaid coverage. In reality, the landing would be catastrophic. There is nothing “soft” about ripping health care away from the 11 million Americans enrolled in the Medicaid expansion. The new bill also shifts hundreds of billions of dollars in costs to states—leaving them with a Sophie’s Choice of which populations and benefits to cut in order to close their budget shortfalls. Seniors? Pregnant woman? People with a preexisting condition, like cancer or a heart attack? Who do we help, and who do we turn our back on?

The Senate bill also slices and dices Medicaid enrollees into the deserving and the undeserving, exempting some populations with disabilities from the caps while leaving other vulnerable individuals—like people with addictions—out in the cold. Lawmakers must remember that people with addictions do not qualify as “disabled” under a Gingrich-era change that excluded them from Social Security Disability. The proposed cuts to Medicaid would disproportionately harm those who rely on Medicaid for lifesaving opioid addiction treatment, at a time when mortality from the opioid epidemic is growing at devastating speed each year. We are facing a national emergency on opioids – now is hardly the time to reduce our efforts.

The bill’s feeble attempts to bolster psychiatric treatment while stripping health care away from millions are paltry at best. While the outdated law prohibiting Medicaid funding for services provided in residential or inpatient treatment settings deserves to be changed, the small tweak to this payment exclusion that is included in the bill will do nothing to mitigate the loss of Medicaid coverage for millions—nor does it provide for important outpatient care serving people in their own communities. The proposed one-year grant fund for mental health and addiction treatment in 2018 doesn’t come close to meeting the real—and growing—need for care. Grants are not a substitute for health coverage. We don’t rely on grants for the treatment of heart disease or cancer, and addiction and mental health should be no different.

Congress has made incredible strides in advancing access to care for mental illness and addiction in recent years. It is shocking that members of Congress – many of whom have family members who would be affected and all of whom represent constituencies who would be gravely harmed – would even consider a bill that would obliterate these gains, returning us to the days when people with mental illness or addiction couldn’t access treatment.

This is not our vision for America. Slashing billions of Medicaid dollars from state budgets would cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The National Council urges the Senate to vote down this reprehensible bill.

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The National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s community mental health and addictions treatment organizations. Together with 2,800 member organizations, it serves more than eight million adults and children living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. The organization is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life. The National Council, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health pioneered Mental Health First Aid in the U.S. and has trained more than 1 million individuals to connect youth and adults in need to mental health and addictions care in their communities. To learn more about the National Council, visit the official website.

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Early this week, Richard Edley, RCPA President/CEO, met with staffers from Congressmen Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, and Meehan’s offices, as well as Senators Toomey and Casey to discuss the current negotiations taking place on health care. RCPA highlighted the financial impacts that the “American Health Care Act” would have on Pennsylvanians and urged the Congressmen and Senators to oppose any proposal that results in cuts or rollbacks of Medicaid. RCPA stressed that Medicaid is the single largest payer of mental health and addiction treatment services in the country. Any proposals that rollback Medicaid coverage or restrict people’s access to treatment will have a significant impact on this vulnerable population.

Additionally, RCPA staff had a productive meeting with Charlotte Pineda in Congressman Fitzpatrick’s office. In that meeting, RCPA gave its support to Congressman Fitzpatrick’s “Road to Recovery Act.” This bipartisan bill addresses the antiquated and problematic IMD Final Rule and will enable Pennsylvania to expand access to residential treatment for substance use disorders, while not intruding on a state’s flexibility to implement care. Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs, will be scheduling additional follow-up meetings with the Congressman and his staff on the “Road to Recovery Act” and other health care issues.

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On Tuesday, the Senate passed SB 561 by a vote of 29-20. The senate bill amends the Regulatory Review Act to require the General Assembly and the Governor to approve all regulations with an economic impact or cost to the Commonwealth, its political subdivisions, and the private sector that exceed $1.0 million. The bill has been referred to the House State Government Committee.

RCPA staff has been successful in amending the bill to include legislative language – “the private sector” – because of the economic impact regulations have on health and human service providers’ budgets. RCPA continues to work with the prime sponsor and has reached out to House leadership to let them know that this is an important piece of legislation. Questions, contact Jack Phillips.

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Call Congress to Protect Medicaid TODAY!

The Senate looks primed to introduce and vote on health care legislation by the end of this month that would repeal Medicaid expansion and fundamentally restructure the Medicaid program. Call your Senators TODAY and urge them to oppose these changes!

Remind your Senators of the critical role Medicaid plays in providing access to lifesaving treatment services to millions of Americans living with mental illness and addiction.  Dedicating a few minutes of your time today can help save Medicaid access for millions of Americans in need.

take-action

 

Instructions for Call-In Day

  1. Dial this number: 202-224-3121
  2. Ask for your Senators.
  3. Share with them this message:
  • Your message: “I am calling about the American Health Care Act. I urge you to oppose any proposal that results in cuts or rollbacks of Medicaid. Medicaid is the single largest payer of mental health and addiction treatment services in the country. Any proposals that rollback Medicaid coverage or restrict people’s access to treatment will have a significant impact on this vulnerable population. The House-passed bill directly targets important health care protections like the essential health benefits, protections for those with pre-existing conditions and hurts efforts to achieve parity in health care. I’m calling from [city, state, and zip] and my name is [first and last name].” 

Sincerely,
Chuck Ingoglia
Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Practice Improvement
National Council for Behavioral Health

Questions, contact Jack Phillips.