Mental Health and Addiction Get Attention from Policymakers and PCC
Federal policymakers are increasingly focusing on mental health and addiction policy, including the importance of integrating behavioral health services into primary care.
The administration’s proposed FY 2023 budget featured legislative proposals to broaden Medicare mental health benefits, bolster Medicaid behavioral health payment, and invest more in a range of federal programs. Building on a series of hearings, the Senate Finance Committee and the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee are working on bipartisan legislative packages for possible action later this year.
In meetings this month, PCC’s President and CEO, Ann Greiner, PCC staff, and leaders from the PCC Behavioral Health Integration Workgroup opened a dialogue with senior staff in the Office of Health and Human Services, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, and leadership from across the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
In the discussions, PCC heard a loud and clear recognition of the importance of primary care from the administration. PCC will continue to advance its recommendations and lift up primary care as central to any effective response to the mental health crisis.
CMS Issues RFI on Medicaid Access and Enrollment
PCC to Offer Comment
As part of the administration’s work to advance health equity and reduce health disparities, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services is seeking feedback on topics related to healthcare access, such as enrolling in and maintaining coverage, accessing healthcare services and supports, and ensuring adequate provider payment rates to encourage provider availability and quality.
The public comment period is open for 60 days from Feb. 17, 2022, through April 18, 2022. PCC will be responding to the Request for Information (RFI). Review the specific questions included in the RFI .
Budget and Appropriations Update
Primary Care Research Advocates Win $2 Million for Primary Care Research
On March 15, the 2022 Consolidated Appropriations Act (H.R. 2471 ) was signed by President Biden. An explanatory statement released by the House Rules Committee accompanying the appropriations bill designated $2 million for the Center for Primary Care Research at the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Advocates have worked on increasing federal primary care research funding since 2018, and although the final appropriation is less than the originally requested $5 million, this is still a victory for primary care research stakeholders.
Biden Administration’s 2023 Budget Proposal Strengthens Primary Care
The Biden administration has requested roughly $127 billion to fund HHS for fiscal year 2023, a 15% increase from 2022 levels. Some of the primary care provisions of the budget proposal include:
- $10 million for AHRQ’s Center for Primary Care Research
- Improving access to behavioral health services and primary care services by requiring coverage of three behavioral health visits and three primary care visits without cost sharing.
- Establishing a new $7.5 billion Mental Health System Transformation Fund to increase access to mental health services, including the integration of quality mental health and substance use care into primary care settings.
- Establishing a Medicare benefit category for licensed professional counselors and marriage and family therapists that authorizes direct billing and payment under Medicare for these practitioners.
Employer Strategies to Drive Health, Equity and Value
The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchasers Coalition, a PCC Executive Member, released a report and action brief on employer strategies that drive health, equity, and value. It provides a fresh look at addressing social needs and social determinants of the workforce.
The report and action brief can be found here .
State Legislative Update
This spring, state-level primary care investment legislation is on the move in state legislatures across the country.
To date this year, two primary care investment bills have been signed into law:
- Utah’s HB 210 , requiring an annual report on primary care spending in the state
- Washington state’s SB 5589, which charges the state’s Health Care Cost Transparency Board with measuring and reporting on primary care expenditures and establishing a yearly primary care spending target that would eventually reach 12% of total healthcare expenditures.
Additional statehouses are poised to add to the growing momentum before sessions wrap later this year. Maryland’s SB 734 has passed the Senate and is now before the House. California’s primary care advocates are hoping for action in the Senate after the Assembly passed AB 1130 last year. New York's S. 6534 is awaiting a Senate floor vote.
Primary care measurement and/or investment bills have also been introduced in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska and Vermont. Currently 13 states have already measured or committed to measure primary care spending in their state. |
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