August 06, 2007 - Vol 1, Issue 20
U.S. Houses Passes Medicare Mental Health Legislation
On August 1st, the House of Representatives passed the Children's Health and Medicare Protection (CHAMP) Act H.R. 3162. This legislation is critically important for geriatric mental health as it would:
- Gradually provide parity between Medicare mental health services and services for physical conditions
- Increase by 5% Medicare Part B payments to social workers and psychologists
- Provide a 0.5% increase in the current physician payment system, which impacts mental health providers
- Allow Medicare reimbursement to services provided by marriage and family therapists and licensed professional counselors.
- Authorize new benefits for preventive items and services, including mental health services
- Eliminate the exclusion of benzodiazepines from required coverage under the Medicare Part D prescription drug program
- And more
The major purpose of the legislation is to reauthorize the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). The bill will also make other improvements in Medicare, in addition to those listed above, including helping make health care more affordable and accessible for low-income Medicare beneficiaries.
Next Steps
This week, the Senate is set to pass its version of SCHIP reauthorization, which does not include the Medicare provisions. Congress will recess and return in September, when the House and Senate will go to conference to reconcile the major differences between the two bills. The president has said that he plans to veto the legislation. If so, it is likely that the SCHIP and Medicare provisions would be split into two bills and dealt with separately.
Watch for advocacy alerts: We will ask for you to contact your Senators to urge their support of the critical Medicare mental health provisions!
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Update on the OMH Hearings
Earlier this week, OMH held the last two briefings and hearings on the 2007 Update and Interim Report to the 2006-2010 OMH Plan in the downstate area. At both hearings, there were constituents that testified about geriatric mental health, especially with regards to the hearing themes - housing, coordinated care, and family support. Click on the links below to read Alliance members testimony that were either on, or included, the mental health needs of elders:
Geriatric Mental Health Alliance presented by Kim Steinhagen Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies presented by Michael Polenberg Martha Rados, Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center MHA of Nassau presented by William Bell
If you publicly testified at one of the hearings or submitted testimony about geriatric mental health, send it to us and we will distribute it in a later newsletter.
At the briefing, OMH Commissioner, Michael Hogan presented his priorities which include recovery, employment, increased access to care, Child and Family Clinics Plus, reform of clinic financing, housing, implementation of Personal Recovery Oriented Services (PROS), reducing the length of stay in state hospitals, and the health needs of people with long-term psychiatric disabilities.
He also expressed great interest in encouraging providers to test innovative models and then for providers to contact OMH when they encounter barriers.
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GMHA Events
September 17, 2007 - Back by Popular Demand: Hoarding and Mental Illness hosted by the Geriatric Mental Health Alliance of New York and the Brookdale Center for Healthy Aging and Longevity of Hunter College. Presenters are:
- Carmen Morano, Ph.D., Director of Education, Associate Professor, Hunter College School of Social Work
- Judy Willig, LCSW, Executive Director, Heights and Hill Community Council
The event will be held from 3:00 - 5:00PM at the Hunter College School of Social Work - Auditorium, 129 East 79th Street, NYC, (Between Lexington and Park Avenues). Please make a registration by emailing yhsin@mhaofnyc.org or calling (212) 614-6356. The event is free but pre- registration is required.
September 18, 2007 - Medicare Optimization: Increasing Behavioral Health Services for Older Adults Training designed for community behavioral health organizations that are currently billing Medicare. The training will provide up-to-date information about ways in which programs can enhance their use of Medicare. This training is co- sponsored by the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies. The training will take place from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Coalition offices, 90 Broad St, 8th Floor, NY, NY.
Click here for more information and the registration form.
September 19, 2007 - Medicare Made Easy: How to Bill Medicare for Behavioral Health Services Training designed for community providers who have never billed Medicare for behavioral health services but want to learn how. This training is co-sponsored by the Coalition of Behavioral Health Agencies. The training will take place from 9:00am to 4:00pm at UJA Federation of New York, 130 East 59th Street, 7th Floor - Room 706/708.
Click here for more information and the registration form
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Upcoming Events
September 18, 2007- Mental Illness and the Older Client: A Challenge for Geriatric Care Managers sponsored by the Greater New York Chapter the National Association of Professional Geriatric Care Managers. Speakers include Michael Friedman, LMSW on Meeting the Mental Health Challenges of the Elder Boom and Mark Nathanson, MD on Geriatric Psychiatric Emergencies. The conference will take place from 8:00 a.m. - 4:15 p.m. at The New York Academy of Medicine, 1216 Fifth Avenue (at 103rd St.) New York, NY. Please view the save the date card for more information.
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In the News
Too Few Geriatric Psychiatrists When They're Needed Most
Rich Daly, Psychiatric News
July 20, 2007
As the number of elderly Americans has been rising, so has the number of them who need mental health care. These trends are occurring at the same time that the ranks of geriatric psychiatrists are thinning. These trends indicate that the large number of elderly patients already treated by general psychiatrists are sure to grow.
The long-anticipated retirement of the baby-boom generation is about to begin, and the number of elderly Americans is set to take off. The number of U.S. residents over age 65 was fewer than 35 million in 2000 but according to Census Bureau estimates that group is set to grow to more than 50 million by 2020 and 70 million by 2030.
This expanded population, while healthier and less averse to mental health and addiction care than previous generations, is expected to have significantly higher rates of illicit substance use and related mental illness, due to the rise of the drug culture in the 1960s and more sedentary lifestyles. Research indicates that 20 percent of this population will have a mental illness. The mental health care of this group will be further complicated by the higher rates of misuse of readily available pharmaceuticals.
To read the complete article, click here.
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Groups Seek To Address Cultural Barriers to Alzheimer's Disease Care
From the Kaiser Daily Health Report, July 23, 2007
The Alzheimer's Association and other groups have begun a campaign to address cultural barriers to care for dementia patients in minority communities, the Boston Globe reports. As part of the campaign -- which targets blacks, Hispanics, Asian-Americans and other ethnic and racial groups, the association has developed and distributed educational materials in English and Spanish for patients and physicians. In addition, the association plans to launch a media campaign in English and Spanish and increase efforts to help physicians identify patients at risk for dementia.
"Driving the initiatives is concern that increasing numbers of African-Americans and Latinos are at high risk of Alzheimer's and other types of dementia because they have cardiovascular disease or diabetes and because they are reaching their 60s, 70s and 80s, when dementia typically strikes," the Globe reports. In addition, some recent studies also have found that minorities are more likely than whites to develop dementia and Alzheimer's. The association also seeks to ensure that minorities have access to new treatments for dementia (Dembner, Boston Globe, 7/23).
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