February 21st, 2011
By July 1, 2011, the Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) will close its Cleveland campus of Northcoast Behavioral Healthcare and expand inpatient capacity at its Northfield campus located in Summit County. Additionally ODMH has recommended that the roughly $84 million originally allocated in for a new hospital, be used to renovation the current Northfield campus in Summit County , and provide upgrades elsewhere within its six regional hospitals to promote efficiency and improve patient care. ODMH hopes to save at least $4 million in the first year which they would utilize to ensure continued client access to its six regional campus’s in Ohio. To see the entire press release click on the following: Read the release…
Have a great week!
Cheri L. Walter
Chief Executive Officer
Posted in CEO Minutes |
February 17th, 2011
The Governor’s Office of Health Transformation (OHT) unveiled its new website last week. This website will help individuals stay informed and get involved in the activities of OHT. Individuals can also register on the website to receive e-mail updates. The Office of Health Transformation website is available at: http://www.healthtransformation.ohio.gov
Tags: health, Ohio, OHT, website
Posted in Publications, Up to the Minute |
February 17th, 2011
The Obama administration gave a green light on Tuesday to Arizona’s plan to remove about 250,000 childless adults from its Medicaid rolls, instructing the state that it could circumvent a requirement in the new health care law that prohibits reductions in eligibility. The federal Health & Human Services Administration wrote that Arizona’s expansion of Medicaid to cover low-income childless adults had been enacted a decade ago with special permission from the federal government through a waiver. Thus, the federal government viewed the waiver as a demonstration, and the federal health care reform law does not require a state to renew a demonstration beyond its expiration. Five other states currently cover childless adults on waivers that expire on a rolling basis over the next three years.
Tags: Arizona, HHS, Obama
Posted in Publications, Up to the Minute |
February 17th, 2011
House Republicans unveiled their proposal to cut federal spending by $61 billion through Sept. 30, including over $200 million in cuts to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). The current stopgap measure financing the government expires March 4. If the House and Senate are unable to come to an agreement before then or if the financing is not extended temporarily, federal agencies could be shut down. The House bill is certain to meet a hostile reception in the Democratic-controlled Senate, where the leadership instead backs Mr. Obama’s call for a five-year freeze on domestic spending. To view a spreadsheet of the proposed cuts, click here.
At the same time, President Obama has put forth his proposal for the next federal fiscal year. The total funding for SAMHSA is a slight reduction in budget authority, but includes slight increases in the mental health and substance abuse block grants. To see an overview of the President’s budget proposal as it relates to SAMHSA, click here.
Tags: 2011, 2012, budget cuts, Federal, fiscal, SAMHSA
Posted in Publications, Up to the Minute |
February 14th, 2011
The U.S. House Appropriations Committee has released their proposed cuts to finish out the remaining 7 months of Federal Fiscal Year 2011. They propose to cut $100 billion below the President’s FFY 2011 budget proposal, including a general reduction of $200 million to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. So while we are all worried about what might happen to Ohio’s State budget, we also need to be concerned and stay informed with what is occurring at the federal level, as these level of cuts could impact Ohio’s level of funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Block grants. To learn more about the proposed budget reductions click on the following link.
http://republicans.appropriations.house.gov/_files/ProgramCutsFY2011ContinuingResolution.pdf
Have a GREAT week!
Cheri L. Walter
Chief Executive Officer
Posted in CEO Minutes |
February 11th, 2011
Connecticut announced that it will convert to a new system of self-insurance to improve quality and save costs on its $4 billion health care program for some 600,000 people covered by their Medicaid program. Under the present system, the state pays insurance companies and health maintenance organizations a per-capita monthly fee, both to manage the care and pay doctors for the care of each state resident covered by Medicaid. Under the new plan, which state officials want to go into effect by January 2012, Connecticut will pay doctors and hospitals directly for care, in effect insuring itself instead of asking a third party to assume the risk. Connecticut will solicit bids to create a contract with a private company to provide administrative services now handled by insurance companies. The contract also will reward the company for efficiently managing patient call centers and referral services and for analysis of complicated cases.
Posted in Publications, Up to the Minute |
February 11th, 2011
In the January 2011 issue of the Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, new performance measures have been released for monitoring the use of medications designed to help patients end their dependence on opioids and alcohol. They are designed to allow treatment providers and health plans to determine whether medications approved by the FDA for treating alcohol and opioid dependence are being prescribed for patients who could benefit from them. The performance measures were pilot-tested in a Washington Circle study led by Dr. Cindy Parks Thomas of Brandeis University and funded by the Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA). Based on data drawn from Medicaid, private health plans, and the Veteran’s Health Administration, the study found that medication-assisted treatments were initiated in a timely manner in less than 20 percent of individuals who might benefit.
Posted in Up to the Minute |
February 11th, 2011
The House Health & Aging Committee heard sponsor testimony on two behavioral health-related bills. The first was HB 68 introduced by Representative Burke to create a Council to Reform Behavioral Health Care. The uncompensated Council would be appointed by the House, Senate and Governor’s office and tasked with cost containment and comprehensive reform. The second bill, HB 93 is co-sponsored by Representative Burke and Representative Johnson to tackle certain aspects of the prescription drug abuse problem in Ohio. There are five major provisions to the bill: improving how Ohio monitors prescriptions; limiting prescribers’ ability to personally furnish controlled substances; improving consumer education and care coordination; licensing and regulating pain-management clinics; and developing a statewide prescription drug “take back” program.
Posted in Publications, Up to the Minute |
February 11th, 2011
The Supreme Court of Ohio will accept public comments until March 8 on a new rule that outlines standards to help guide local courts if they are currently operating or considering starting a specialized docket. There are approximately 150 specialized dockets operating in Ohio including drug courts, mental health courts, re-entry courts, OVI courts, veterans courts, sex offender courts, felony non-support courts and domestic violence courts. The 12 standards proposed are intended to create a minimum level of uniform practices yet still allow courts to tailor operations to meet their individual needs. Some of the standards require courts to engage in a planning process, use a non-adversarial approach, hold regular treatment team meetings, and conduct regular status review hearings. Click here for the text of the proposed amendments.
Posted in Publications, Up to the Minute |
February 7th, 2011
This past Wednesday February 2nd, the Council of State Governments released a report; Justice Reinvestment in Ohio: A Policy Framework to Reduce Corrections Spending & Reinvest Savings in Strategies that Can Reduce Crime. The report is a policy framework that would work to reduce Ohio’s rising prison population and use part of the expected cost savings to strengthen felony probation supervision. The report is a result of research conducted over the last year by the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center in partnership with the 18 member, bipartisan Ohio Justice Reinvestment Work Group.
As advocates for Ohio’s behavioral health system know, many of the offenders entering Ohio’s criminal justice system are in need of alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services. It will be important for all of us involved in either the criminal justice or behavioral health systems to understand the inter-relatedness and to make sure that as we work to keep offenders from entering or re-entering prisons, that we provide the mental health and addiction services necessary to help them become and stay productive citizens of their local communities. The Feb. 2011 report can be accessed at: http://justicereinvestment.org/states/ohio/pubmaps-oh
Have a great week!
Cheri L. Walter
Chief Executive Officer
Posted in CEO Minutes |
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