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RCPA has signed onto a letter to Congressional leaders of the Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Committee on Finance, along with 244 other signatories, outlining the need for parity in addiction and mental health care under Medicare.

As the President’s 2023 Budget and Senate Finance Committee’s bipartisan report has highlighted, Medicare is not subject to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (Parity Act). As a result, Medicare beneficiaries do not have coverage of or access to the full range of mental health and substance use disorder benefits they need, and often lose access to treatment they were receiving prior to becoming eligible for Medicare. Although Congress has eliminated disparate financial requirements for Medicare beneficiaries, Medicare still imposes both quantitative (e.g. 190-day lifetime limitation on psychiatric hospital care) and non-quantitative treatment limitations that would violate the Parity Act. Applying the Parity Act to Medicare Parts A, B, C, and D is the critical next step to make mental health and substance use disorder services available and accessible to the millions of Medicare beneficiaries in need of treatment.

Read the full letter here.

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From Kristen Houser, Deputy Secretary, DHS/Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services:

I am writing to request your participation to inform the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at the PA Department of Human Services of the values and desired outcomes and objectives that you would like to see reflected in a crisis behavioral health response system of services.

On July 16, 2022, the new, easy to remember, three-digit phone number to reach the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline will become active. People experiencing mental health-related distress – whether that is thoughts of suicide, a mental health or substance use crisis, or any other kind of emotional distress – will be able to call 9-8-8 to be connected to trained staff at a National Lifeline Crisis Call Center for immediate support and referrals to appropriate local resources, including mobile response teams or first responders such as law enforcement or EMS if needed.

We know that communities across Pennsylvania have access to very different local resources to help them during a mental health-related crisis, and the Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services at the PA Department of Human Services is about to embark on a multi-year plan to work with counties to enhance and expand the availability of mobile crisis response teams. Included in the plans for a full continuum of crisis intervention services is access to walk-in and crisis respite centers.

As a first step, we are reaching out to individuals across multiple disciplines to request input to ensure the values and desired outcomes and objectives we utilize to build these services is informed by stakeholders from across the Commonwealth.

Please take a few minutes to answer the questions within by July 8. The short survey should take approximately 10-15 minutes to complete.

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ODP Announcement 21-031: UPDATE highlights that the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) provides a temporary 10% increase to the federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP) for certain Medicaid expenditures for home and community-based services (HCBS). The funding is to be used to enhance, expand, or strengthen HCBS beyond what is available under the Medicaid program.

On June 3, CMS notified states that they have an additional year to use funding made available by ARPA, expanding eligible expenditures to March 31, 2025. To provide guidance about the process for providers to request one-time payments and address staff training, credentialing, and business associates programs for employment, the application deadline for this initiative has been extended to October 31, 2022.

Providers interested in applying will complete and submit the Staff Training, Credentialing, and Business Associates Programs for Employment Supplemental Payment Application and submit via email to Rick Smith. Applications will be accepted through October 31, 2022.

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Image by succo from Pixabay

The Pennsylvania Senate today passed HB 1563 and HB 1561, sending the substance use disorder and mental health confidentiality-related bills to Gov. Wolf to sign into law. He is expected to sign both.

Both bills align Pennsylvania’s confidentiality laws with federal confidentiality laws, including 42 CFR and HIPAA. Barring a Gov. Wolf veto of HB 1563, Pennsylvania’s 4 Pa Code 255.5 will be eliminated.

Advocates of improved care coordination and integration have long pointed to 4 Pa Code 255.5 as a barrier, citing the limited amount of information allowed to be shared and the few entities with whom it could be shared, even with patient consent.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) today announced the availability of $3 million in funding for entities to provide pregnancy support services to address the needs of pregnant and postpartum women with substance use disorder (SUD).

Eligible applicants can find the project summary and budget on the Funding Opportunities page of the DDAP website. Approximately three to five grants, up to $600,000 each, will be awarded to help provide services, streamline care, and assure that this population is connected with the most appropriate resources to reach long-term recovery.

All applications must be submitted via email by 11:59 pm on Friday, July 29, 2022. Applications will be competitively reviewed and scored based upon the applicant’s adherence to the funding announcement guidelines and a timely submission to DDAP.

The grants are part of $59 million in federal funding awarded to Pennsylvania through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant Program.

Questions regarding the grants and the application process can be emailed to DDAP.

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