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Substance Use Disorder

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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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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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The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) announced today it is extending its opioid treatment program (OTP) exemption for an in-person physical evaluation for buprenorphine treatment for a period of one year from the end of the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency (PHE). The extension goes into effect upon the expiration of the COVID-19 PHE.

Read the full announcement.

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The Council on Brain Injury (CoBI) released the following information regarding a free webinar they will be offering through their clinical forum series on brain injury and substance misuse that will feature opioid misuse. The webinar is scheduled for July 12, 2022, from 3:30 pm – 5:00 pm. Details are below.

CoBI Clinical Forum Series presents: Brain Injury and Substance Misuse, Featuring Opioid Misuse: Practical Implications for Brain Injury Providers (A Webinar)
A Presentation and Discussion With Monica Vaccaro
Tuesday, July 12, 2022   |   3:30 pm – 5:00 pm   |   Webinar

Monica Vaccaro is the Director of Programs for the Brain Injury Association of Pennsylvania (BIAPA), providing oversight and direction to multiple programs, including the Brain Injury Resource Line, NeuroResource Facilitation, Brain Injury and Opioids Training, and the BrainSTEPS School Re-Entry Program. In addition to her role with BIAPA, she is a Research Associate at Moss Rehabilitation Research Institute, with a particular interest in interventions for common effects of brain injury, including anger management, depression, and goal setting.

This session is intended for a professional audience. There is no cost to attend. 

Register Here

Questions? Please contact MJ Schmidt.

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The RCPA Conference 2022, Together, is committed to being held in-person this year at the Hershey Lodge October 11 – 14, 2022. We will not be offering a virtual option; however, our plan is to record sessions for registrants to access after the conference in order to take advantage of over 60 sessions that will take place live.

We are excited to announce keynote speakers Dick Finnegan, speaker, author, & CEO of C-Suite Analytics, on “Cutting Turnover 20% and More During ‘The Great Resignation,’” as well as Deborah Riddick, Principal Consultant at Alternative Frame LLC, where she works with clients across the country providing policy analyses, engagement strategies, and health equity trainings.

Hear from our national partners Chuck Ingoglia from the National Council for Mental Wellbeing and Gabriel Sedor of ANCOR for updates on the current federal landscape. Meg Snead and Jen Smith will share PA perspectives, and returning conference favorite Mike Cohen will close out the conference with a return of “Dear Helga,” who has many new experiences to share.

Each day will be packed with informational sessions from peers and experts in the field. Topics include recruiting and retaining talented employees, value-based payments, managed care organizations’ focus on Social Determinants of Health, use of technology in providing services, the importance of data, leadership skills, trauma-informed care and supervision, telehealth considerations, effective advocacy with legislators and others, supporting people with various challenging needs, guardianship laws, and more. A full schedule will be released with registration information soon.

We are also grateful to our early sponsors and exhibitors! Thank you for showing your support for our 2022 Conference!

  • Allegheny Family Network
  • Beacon Health Options
  • Berks Counseling Center
  • Butler Human Services Furniture
  • CapGrow Partners
  • Devereux Advanced Behavioral Health
  • Genoa Healthcare
  • KidsPeace
  • Mission Driven Data
  • MITC
  • Partners for Quality
  • PerformCare
  • Pyramid Healthcare, Inc.
  • Terrapin Pharmacy
  • Vista Autism Services
  • ZMark Health

There are still many sponsorship opportunities as well as available exhibitor spaces! Please contact Carol Ferenz to discuss possibilities.

We look forward to seeing you all Together this October!

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