HHS Backs Behavioral Health with $23M Grant Funding Efforts
By - The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) – in partnership with both the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) – will award up to nearly $23 million to help states advance behavioral health through the promotion of community-based mental and substance use disorder treatment.
As RevCycleIntelligence.com reported, mental healthcare is frankly very expensive. From 2009 to 2011, adult mental healthcare costs reached $48 billion. Nearly half of this $48 billion was spent on prescription medicines.
SAMHSA funding will boost planning initiatives to certify community behavioral health clinics, confirms a press release from the Department of Health & Human Services (HHS).
The planning grants, set to end in October of next year, serve as the initial phase of a two-phase process. According to HHS, after October of 2016, states may apply to participate in a two-year demonstration program that will begin in 2017. A maximum of 8 states with certified community behavioral health clinics will administer eligible behavioral health services via the demonstration program, says HHS.
States SAMHSA Acting Administrator, Kana Enomoto, the planning grants are simply a “game changer.” “Today’s awards will assist states in working closely with community clinics to bring together essential behavioral health services, integrate primary care services and improve quality and data reporting systems,” says Enomoto.
Adds Vikki Wachino, CMS’s Deputy Administrator and Director of the Center for Medicaid and CHIP Services, “The planning grants will help states strengthen payment for behavioral health services for Medicaid and CHIP beneficiaries, and will help individuals with mental and substance use disorders obtain the health care they need to maintain their health and well-being.”
The planning grants, via the Protecting Access to Medicare Act of 2014, aim to merge behavioral health with physical health care, maintain consistency levels within evidence-based practices, and advance high quality care accessibility. They additionally aim to help patients such as those adults struggling with mental illness or substance use disorders and children dealing with emotional disturbance.
As reported by HealthITInteroperability.com, according to SAMHSA, up to 70 percent of patients with severe mental illnesses also have co-morbid medical conditions. Therefore, behavioral health clinicians require stronger access to far-reaching information in order to most efficiently execute educated medical decisions.
“The planning grants will be used to support states to certify community behavioral health clinics, solicit input from stakeholders, establish prospective payment systems for demonstration reimbursable services, and prepare an application to participate in the demonstration program,” maintains HHS.
“The criteria used to certify community behavioral health clinics emphasize high quality and evidence based practices,” the organization states.
Regarding the awardees and grant amounts, Oregon and Alaska will receive the smallest financial amounts at over $728,000 and over $769,000, respectively. Pennsylvania and Nevada will receive over $886,000 and over $933,000, respectively. To receive over $982,000 are the following states: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Mexico, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, and Virginia.
