SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
February 2, 2011 2/2/2011
1
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
February 2, 2011 2/2/2011
2
Around the States: State and Local Behavioral Health
Financing News Arizona
Update:
Governor Applies for Medicaid Enrollment Reduction Waiver
: On January 25,
Governor Jan
Brewer
(R) sent a proposal to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
(CMS)
,
seeking a Medicaid
enrollment reduction waiver. Authorized under legislation signed on January 20, the proposal requests
that CMS allow Arizona
to reduce Medicaid enrollment by 30
0,000 individuals as a temporary cost
-
saving maneuver. State officials estimate the reduction would save $541.4 million ( The
Arizona Republic, 1/25 ; Kaiser Health News, 1/26 ).
California
MHSOAC Awards $123.8 Million in Proposition 63 Funds for Prevention and Early Intervention: On
Jan
uary 27, the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
(MHSOAC)
allocated $123.8 million statewide in Proposition 63
funds for prevention and early intervention (PEI)
programming. MHSOAC oversees
Prop.
63 funds,
which finan
ce
county mental health programming
through a state tax on residents earning over $1 million annually.
To date, MHSOAC has allocated
$861.4 million ( Lake County News, 1/30 ).
Insurers Agree to Del
ay Health Insurance Rate Increases
:
Aetna Inc.
,
Anthem Blue Cross
of California,
and
PacifiCare
have agreed to delay
the
implementation of individual health insurance rate increases for
60 days.
T
he delay
will allow
California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones
(D) adequate time to
determine whether the
proposed increases meet state medical loss ratio (MLR) requirements.
Under
emergency rules approved by
the
California Office of Administrative Law
(OAL)
on
January 25, insurers
must meet an 80 percent MLR
r
equirement
in the individual market. If approved, Aetna222s increases
would average 9.8 percent,
Anthem Blue Cross
222
increases
would average
20.7 percent, and
PacifiCare222s
increases
would
range from 2 to
9 pe
rcent
( Los Angeles Times, 1/27 ; Insurance Journal, 1/25 ; Kaiser Health News, 1/28 ; California Health Line, 1/26 ).
Delaware
Governor Proposes $3.4 Billion Budget
with Additional Medicaid Funding
: On January 27,
Governor
Jack Markell
(D
) proposed a $3.4 billion budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1
. A
3.85 percent
increase over current funding levels
, t
he budget
would increase
state Medicaid spending by $51.6
million, to $590 million. The budget also includes $5 million in Medicaid cost
-
saving efficiencies ( AP via NECN, 1/27 ; The News Journal, 1/28 ).
Illinois
Update:
Governor Signs Medicaid Reform Bill
: On January 25,
Gover
nor Pat Quinn (D) signed
Medicaid
reform
legislation (
HB 5420
)
that will
transition 50 percent of
Illinois
222
Medicaid beneficiaries to managed
care plans by 2015 and place a two
-
year moratorium on Medicaid expansion. In addition, the law will
change current eligibility standards to require annual eligibility verification, replacing the current
223presumptive eligibility224 system. The law will also
transition long-
term care patients to community
-
based care facilities to cut costs and improve
the
quality
of car
e
( Chicago Tribune, 1/25 )
.
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
February 2, 2011 2/2/2011
3
Iowa
Governor Proposes Budget
with
Increase
d
Medicaid and Mental Health Funding
: On January 27,
Governor Terry Branstad
(R) proposed a $6.16 billion budget for the next biennium. If approved, the
budget would be
$185
million
below
current spending levels
but would increase state Medicaid
spending by $528 million.
In addition, t
o avoid capacity cuts at
the
six
state institutions
for individuals
with mental illnesses and developmental disabilities
, the budget would increase
the facilities222
funding by
$15 million. Governor Branstad222s budget now goes before the Iowa Legislature
( Des Moines Register, 1/28 ; Globe Gazette, 1/27 ).
Kansas
Senate
Committee Approves Bill Adjusting High
-
Risk Pool
: On January 26, the Kansas Senate
Committee on Financial Institutions and Insurance
approved legislation (
SB 14
) that would change the
state222s high
-
risk insurance pool to increase lifetime benefit limits and
offer individual coverage to
children. The bill would raise the
pool222s
lifetime benefit limit from
$2 million to $3 million
and
allow
children under 19 to purchase coverage through the
pool
if they cannot
obtain
coverage elsewhere. The
bill now goes before the Kansas Senate
( Kansas Health Institute, 1/26 ; Kaiser Healt
h News, 1/27 ).
State Rep. Introduces
Legislation
Challenging Individual Insurance Mandate
: On January 31, State Rep.
Brenda Landwehr
(R) introduced a bill (
HB 2129) that would
bar laws restricting the rights of Kansans to
determine
whether to purchase health insurance.
The
same day, Rep. Landwehr also
introduced a
proposed constitutional amendment that would
guarantee
those
rights. Designed to challenge the
national health care reform law222s individual insurance mandate, even if approved, the bill
and
amen
dment
would be symbolic, as federal law
would supersede them
( Kansas Health Institute, 1/28 ; KLISS ).
Kentucky
Legislature Considering Medicaid Whistleblower Bills
: The
Kentucky House and
Kentucky Senate
are
currently
considering
legislation (
HB 4
and
SB 11
) that would compensate whistleblowers
for providing
evidence of
Medicaid fraud
. Both
bills would allow a whistleblower working for a Medicaid provider or
contractor to turn
over
evidence to state prosecutors and receive a portion of the recovered funds.
However, t
he House bill would apply to all businesses working for the state.
In addit
ion, both
bills
would allow the state to seek
damages
three times greater than the defrauded amount
.
The Senate
approved SB 11 early in January, and
it now go
es
before the House. HB 4 is
currently
before the
Kentucky House Judiciary Committee
( Lexington Herald
-
Leader, 1/31 ).
Massachusetts
Governor Proposes $30.5 Billion Budget Cut
ting
Mental Health Funding
: On January 26,
Governor
Deval Patrick
(D) proposed a $30.5 billion budget for FY2012, a
$570 million decrease from current-year
levels. The budget would save $1 billion through new Medicaid provider contracts
,
requiring
increased
care coordination and cooperation between providers.
Governor Patrick222s budget would also cut $16
million from Massachusetts Department of Mental Health
(DMH) hospitals and eliminate 165 state
inpatient mental health beds, moving patients to community
-
based facilities.
In addition, the budget
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
February 2, 2011 2/2/2011
4
would reduce
funding for state
-
administrated preventive health services by $5.9 million ( The Boston Globe, 1/27 ; The Patriot Ledger, 1/27 ; AP via Boston Herald, 1/26 ).
Minnesota
Senate Committee Approves Bill to Repeal Medicaid
Expansion: On January 2
7
, the
Minnesota Senate
Health and Human Services Committee
approved a bill
(
SF 33
)
that would repeal the Medicaid
expansion
Governor Mark Dayton
(D) ordered
on January 5. The bill would also bar enforcement
of the
national health care reform law222s individual insurance mandate. The bill now goes before the
Minnesota Senate ( AP via Star Tribune
, 1/26 ).
Health Industry Report Proposes Health Care Financing Changes
: On February 1, health industry
officials presented state
officials
with
a health
care
financing reform proposal, Minnesota222s Health Care Imperative . D
eveloped by seven
major
health plans and providers, the plan
would reform Medicaid and
eliminate $1.8 billion
of the state222s $6.2 billion deficit. To obtain $800 million in federal funding, t
he
proposal recommends maintaining the Medicaid expansion that
Governor Mark Dayton
(D) ordered on
January 5. In addition, the report proposes raising an
additional $400 million in federal funds through a
Medicaid provider tax to draw down an additional $400 million in federal funds. Finally, t
o save an
estimated $100 million, t
he authors suggest establishing an institute to study cost
-
saving Medicaid
benefit cuts ( Star Tribune, 1/27 ; Kaiser Health News,
1/27 ).
North Carolina
House Committee Approves Bill Barring Individual Insurance Mandate
: On January 31
, the North
Carolina House Finance
Committee
approved legislation (
HB 2
) that would bar any law requiring an
individual to obtain health insurance o
r interfer
ing
with an individual222s right to pay for health services
directly. Designed to challenge the national health care reform law222s individual insurance mandate, if
approved, the bill would be symbolic
because
federal law would supersede it
. The bi
ll would also
require
Attorney General Roy Cooper
(D) to challenge the national health care reform law in court. The
bill will now go before the
full
North Carolina
House
( WRAL, 1/
27 ).
Pennsylvania
State Seeks Increased Funding and Broader
Eligibility for High
-
Risk Pool
to Cover adultBasic Enrollees
:
On January 24,
Governor Tom Corbett222s
(R)
Administration
wrote to
U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services
(HHS)
Secretary
Kathleen
Sebelius
, requesting that federal officials provide increased
funding and broader
eligibility standards for Pennsylvania222s
high
-
risk insurance pool. Governor Corbett
is requesting the changes
to
ensure
health coverage for the
40,000 individuals who will lose state
-
subsidized coverage on February 28, when funding for adultBasic runs out. AdultBasic is
Pennsylvania222s
health care program for adults earning up to 200 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL).
The
program
is slated to
expire
becaus
e state officials were unable to reach a deal with
the state222s
Blue
Cross and Blue Shield
(BCBS) plans to continue funding through June ( AP via
Bloomberg, 1/24 ; Kaiser Health News, 1/25 ).
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
February 2, 2011 2/2/2011
5
Keystone Health Finishes Behavioral Health Renovation: Using a $1.7 million American Recovery and
Reinvestment Ac
t
(ARRA)
grant
, Keystone Health has completed renovations
on
its behavioral health
and dental program facilities in Chambersburg. The behavioral health facility now features four
additional treatment rooms and two new
group therapy rooms ( Chambersburg Public Opinion, 1/31 ).
South Dakota
House Committee Rejects Bill Declaring Health Reform Unconstitutional
: On January 26, the South
Dakota House State Affairs Committee
rejected legislation that would declare unconstitutional
any law
that 223interferes with the right of any person224 to choose their health coverage. Even i
f enacted, federal
law would have superseded South Dakota222s legislation
( AP via Bloomberg, 1/26 ; Kaiser Health News, 1/26 ).
Utah
DWS Cutting Medicaid Eligibility Determination Spending by
$9.2 Million
: On January 27, Utah
Department of Workforce Services
(DWS) officials testified before state lawmakers that DWS will
reduce spending on Medicaid eligibility determination by $9.2 million over 18 months
. The
DWS
reduction will
cut
Utah222s eligibility
determination spending by 20 percent. State Senator Dan Liljenquist
(R) originally proposed privatizing Medicaid eligibility determination to reduce costs, but now says
privatization
will be unnecessary
if DWS meets i
ts
20 percent target
( Deseret News, 1/27 ; The Salt Lake Tribune, 1/26 ).
Vermont
Governor Proposes $4.8 Billion Budget,
Including
Mental Health Funding
Cuts
: On January 25,
Governor Peter Shumlin
(D
) proposed a $4.8 billion FY2012
budget that would reduce mental
health
funding by $4.6 million.
The budget would also increase assessments on health care providers to raise
$28 million and end the
state-
subsidized private insurance program
,
Catamount Health
, transferring the
program222s 12,500 beneficiaries to the Vermont Health Access Program. Finally, the budge
t
would
eliminate $1.7 million for tobacco prevention and cessation programming. The budget now goes before
the
Vermont Legislature
( The Burlington Free Press, 1/25 ; Brattleboro Reformer, 1/29 ).
West Virginia
Community Health Centers Sue State O
ver Medicaid Reimbursements
: On January 26, eight
community health centers filed a federal suit against the West Virginia Department of
Health and
Human Resources
(DHHR) over alleged
ly
inadequate Medicaid r
eimbursements. The plaintiffs claim
that DHHR222s
Bureau for Medical Services
has mismanaged Medicaid
and
underpaid them since 2001.
The suit requests that the state develop a new Medicaid reimbursement plan within 45 days
,
recalculate
the
reimbursements p
aid since 2001
,
and pay the centers the difference between the
original payments
and those dictated by the new plan
. The suit also seeks an end to
223
arbitrary
224
Medicaid caps, including
the
cap
that restricts
beneficiaries to
10
mental health treatment
visits
per
year
.
On average, 28 percent
of the centers222 patients are Medicaid beneficiaries
. T
he centers provide both
dental and medical care,
including behavioral health services
( AP via Bloomberg, 1/27 ).
