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Substance Use Disorder

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) has issued clarification on policy regarding encounter signatures for crisis services. The updated policy outlines that OMHSAS considers mobile mental health crisis services to be emergency services. While every effort should be made to obtain a signature from the beneficiary or a parent, legal guardian, relative, or friend, when such a signature cannot be obtained due to the nature of the situation, crisis intervention service providers are permitted to insert “Signature Exception” on the signature line of the encounter form.

RCPA has inquired if the encounter verification under these circumstances can be considered for similar applications to other programs under other OMHSAS licensed services. If you have any questions, please contact RCPA COO and Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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Registration for the Pennsylvania Association of Area Agencies on Aging’s (P4A) 2024 Aging and Behavioral Health Conference is now open. The conference agenda will equip behavioral health practitioners and professionals with essential tools and knowledge regarding mental health and substance use disorders affecting older adults. The conference is set for May 29 – 30 at the Best Western Premier Hotel & Conference Center in Harrisburg. The deadline for registration is Friday, May 17. You can register and find details regarding the conference here.

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The Pennsylvania Department of Health (PA DOH) is hosting a virtual session with the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Philadelphia Division to discuss pharmacy best practices in ordering and dispensing controlled substances, particularly medications for opioid use disorder (MOUD) like buprenorphine. This session, scheduled on Wednesday, April 24 from 12:30 pm – 2:00 pm, aims to address concerns raised during PA DOH’s Fall 2023 listening sessions on patient access to controlled substances. Participants can register for the session using this form and are encouraged to submit questions in advance by Friday, April 19, 2024. Even if unable to attend, individuals can still submit questions for a later response. Please submit inquiries via email. This collaborative learning opportunity is crucial, and recipients are encouraged to share the invitation with interested parties.

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Photo by Unseen Studio on Unsplash

The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) has announced multiple in-person clinical supervision skills trainings occurring in the upcoming months in various locations. These sessions, aimed at enhancing clinical supervision skills and providing tools for working with supervisees, will take place on May 20–24 at Courtyard by Marriott in Lancaster, and June 10–14 at Holiday Inn Express Grove City in Mercer. Additional sessions are planned for July, October, and November in different regions. Each training is from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm daily, with a registration fee of $300. Registration is limited and will be processed on a first-come, first-served basis. Interested individuals can download the registration form from the Training Management System (TMS).

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Lack of BH Providers in Medicare and Medicaid Impedes Enrollees’ Access to Care

The Office of the Inspector General (OIG) has released a report citing there are not enough behavioral health providers participating in Medicare and Medicaid networks.

In an analysis published April 2, the government watchdog studied one urban and one rural county in 10 states across the country. The analysis found relatively few behavioral health providers are participating in Medicaid, Medicare, and Medicare Advantage programs, leading to difficulties in access for enrollees.

Notable Findings:

  1. On average, there were fewer than five active behavioral health providers accepting Medicare and Medicaid patients per 1,000 enrollees. Traditional Medicare had the lowest rates of providers, at 2.9 per 1,000 on average, and Medicare Advantage had the highest rate at 4.7 per 1,000 enrollees.
  2. Rural counties had fewer providers accepting Medicare and Medicaid than urban counties. In rural counties, there were 1.5 providers accepting traditional Medicare per 1,000 patients, compared to 4.4 in urban counties.
  3. Across Medicaid, traditional Medicare, and Medicare Advantage, there were fewer than two providers per 1,000 enrollees that could prescribe medication for mental health issues, such as psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners.
  4. Active providers accepting public insurance make up around one-third of the behavioral health workforce, according to the report.
  5. Fewer than 10% of public insurance beneficiaries received mental health treatment in 2023.
  6. CMS could also tighten network adequacy standards in Medicare Advantage and Medicaid to increase the size of insurers’ networks, the OIG said in its report.
  7. The OIG recommended CMS up its oversight of Medicaid and Medicare enrollees’ use of behavioral health services, and recommended CMS examine allowing more types of behavioral health providers to participate in Medicare and Medicaid.
  8. CMS said it concurred with the OIG’s recommendations and said it has already taken several steps to improve access to behavioral health providers for Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

If you have questions please contact RCPA COO and Director of Mental Health Jim Sharp.

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The Office of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (OMHSAS) April 2024 Stakeholder Webinar is scheduled for Thursday, April 18, 2024, from 3:00 pm � 4:00 pm. You can now register for the meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.

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Photo by Markus Winkler from Pexels

With close to 400 members, the priorities of RCPA leadership are to maintain the quality standards of membership communication, along with advocacy at the state and federal levels. To continue to serve our members effectively and efficiently, it has become imperative that RCPA leadership include a Chief Operating Officer (COO) position. We are pleased to announce that RCPA policy staff member Jim Sharp will start as the COO — and remain Director of Mental Health — effective Monday, April 8, 2024.

Jim has been with RCPA for five years. He has more than 35 years of cross-systems advocacy with organizational and strategic planning experience. He previously worked for RCPA member Merakey, and has served in several key positions, including Chief Juvenile Probation Officer at the Philadelphia Family Court, Admissions Director at George Junior Republic, and he began his career at Montgomery County Juvenile Probation. He holds a Master of Administration, and graduated Magna Cum Laude from Shippensburg University.

This COO role will provide management, leadership, and vision to ensure that RCPA continues to meet its short-term and long-term goals and objectives, by creating policies and a company culture that strengthens operational efficiency and quality of services. Jim Sharp demonstrates a depth of knowledge regarding RCPA’s mission, vision, and values. Please join me in congratulating Jim in his new role.

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