SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
June 1, 2011
6/1/2011
1
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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wa Louisiana Massachusetts Minnesota Montana
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exico P
ennsylvania O
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SAMHSA222s Financing
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SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
June 1, 2011
6/1/2011
2
Around the States: State and Local Behavioral Health
Financing New
s
Florida
Update: Governor
Signs Budget, Behavioral Health Funding Affected
: On May 26,
Governor Rick Scott
(R) signed a n
early $70 billion FY2012 budget, vetoing
$615 million in proposed spending. The vetoes
included $750,000 originally allocated to the 58
-bed Bob Janes Triage Center, which provides behavioral
health services to non-violent offenders
.
The funds were part of $2.25 million
originally appropriated to
the
Florida Departm
ent of Children and Families
(DCF) for behavioral health and public safety
programming. In addition, to save $510 million, the budget will reduce Medicaid hospital
reimbursements by 12 percent ( The Tampa Tribune, 5/26 ; The News
-Press, 5/27 ).
G
eorgia
Update: State Delays Closure of Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital
: State officials have announced
that Georgia will delay the closure of the 180
-bed Northwest Georgia Regional Hospital psychiatric
facility in Rome. Originally slated for closure June 30, the facility will now close on September 30. State
officials say the delay will allow more
time to improve community mental health services
, as required
under an October agreement between the
U.S. Department of Justice
(DOJ) and the state of Geor
gia
.
The agreement
stem
s
from
a lawsuit over the treatment of individuals with developmental disabilities
and mental illnesses in the state222s psychiatric hospitals ( AP via GPB News, 5/30 ).
Iowa
Update: Senate
Approves Mental Health Reform Bill: On May 26, the Iowa Senate
approved legislation
(
SF 525) designed to reform the current system under which counties are responsible for most mental
health services. Under the bill, mental health services would be regionally managed, with the state
responsible for program financing. An interim committee
would
propose
legislation
outlining specific
policy and financing components of the reform plan in
preparation for impl
ementation beginning in
FY2014. A legislative conference committee must resolve differences between the Senate legislation
and an earlier version approved by the
Iowa House
( Des Moines Register, 5/27 ).
Louisiana
House
Approves $25 Billion FY2012 Budget Delaying Implementation of Medicaid Managed Care
Program
: On May 26, the
Louisiana House
approved
a nearly $25 billion FY2012 budget, allocating
$230
million less than Governor Bobby Jindal
222s
(R)
budget proposal. The House
budget
represents an $81
million
reduction in
health services funding relative to Governor Jindal222s proposal
, primarily achieved by
delaying implementation
of a new Medicaid managed care program until FY2013.
The budget now goes
before the
Louisiana Senate
( The Times
-
Picayune, 5/26 ; Kaiser Health News, 5/27 ).
MHSD
to
Build
$2.5 Million Behavioral Health Clinic in New Orleans: The Metropolitan Human Services
Department (MHSD) has begun c
ons
truction on a $2.5 million behavioral health clinic in New Orleans.
Slated to open in the fall of 2012, the construction
is funded by the state and
the
U.S.
Federal
Emergency Management Agency
(FEMA)
. MHSD provides MH/SU services to uninsured individuals
and
Medicaid beneficiaries in Orleans, Plaquemines, and St. Bernard parishes ( The Times
-Picayune, 5/29 ).
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
June 1, 2011
6/1/2011
3
House
Votes to Maintain Cigarette Tax, Plans to U
se
Revenue for Health Services
: On May 24, the
Louisiana House
approved legislation (
HB 591) that would maintain the state222s current cigarette tax and
allocate part of its revenue to health costs. Under current law, four cents
of the state222s 36 cent
per pack
cigarette tax will expire in July 2012. The bill would maintain the current tax and allocate $12 million
annually in
cigarette tax
revenue for health care costs. The bill now goes before the
Louisiana Senate
( The Times
-Picayune, 5/24 ; Kaiser Health News, 5/25 ).
Massachusetts
Update: Senate Approves
$
30.5 Billion Budget Reducing Medicaid Spending by
$775 Million
: On May
26, the
Massachusetts Senate
approved a $30.5 billion FY2012 budget, a $38 million increase from
current
funding
levels. The budget would reduce Medicaid spending by $775 million but m
aintain full
funding for inpatient and community mental health services. The budget now goes before a legislative
conference committee ( AP via The Boston Globe, 5/27 ).
State Finds No Correlation Between Cost and Quality of Hospital Services
: The Massachusetts Division
of Health Care Finance and Policy
(DHCFP)
has released a report
finding
a
wide disparity
in hospital fees
for common procedures performed
in
2009, even
though many procedures
were of comparable quality
.
The report confirms the results of a 2008
state
report, which
found
that the most prominent hospital
groups in Massachusetts used their money, clout, and member base to obtain higher reimbursement
rates
from insurers. The DHCFP
report
also
found no connection between the number of Medicaid
patients a hospital serves and the price the hospital
charges for procedures, which the authors say
refutes
hospital officials222 claim that hospitals with large Medicaid populations must charge private
insurers more to offset Medicaid costs ( The Boston Globe, 5/27 ).
Minnesota
Update: Governor Vetoes
Health Budget that Would Repeal Medicaid Expansion
: On May 24
,
Governor Mark Dayton
(D) veto
ed the
Minnesota Legislature222s
health and social services budget, which
would have reduced general fund spending by $1.6 billion and repealed the Medicaid expansion
Governor Dayton
ordered on January 5. The expansion is
currently transferring 32,000 individuals from
General Assistance Medical Care (GAMC) and 51,000 individuals from MinnesotaCare into the state222s
Medicaid program. The
budget would have reinstituted GAMC ( Pioneer Press, 5/
28 ; MPR News, 5/24 ; Kaiser Health News, 5/25 ; Minneapolis Star Tribune, 5/25 ).
Montana
VA
Health System to Open $7 Million Inpatient Psychiatric Facility
: On June 2, the Veterans Affairs (VA)
Montana Health Care System
will open a $7
million 24
-bed inpatient psychiatric facility at Fort Harrison.
The facility will provide acute psychiatric care and residential rehabilitation services ( AP via The Republic, 5/29 ).
Update:
State
No Longer Pursuing Medicaid
Managed Care Demonstration Project
: State officials have
announced that the
Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services
(DPHHS) is no longer
pursuing a plan to
implement
a five
-county Medicaid managed care demonstration project. On
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
June 1, 2011
6/1/2011
4
November 16, state officials announced a plan to hire a private firm to operate the project, which would
have required managed care
plans to demonstrate 10 percent savings for the Medicaid program and
provide coverage for all Medicaid services. Following a public comment period and a study by a private
consulting firm, state officials say they will not pursue the plan. The demonstration project would have
operated in Cascade, Judith Basin, Lewis and Clark, Pondera, and Teton counties ( AP via Beaumont Enterprise, 5/24 ).
New Jersey
Update: State Officials Provide Details on Medicaid Savings Plan
: On May 24, state officials
clarified an
earlier plan to
achieve
$300 million
in Medicaid savings, as Governor Chris Christie
(R) originally
proposed in his FY2012 budget. Under the plan, New Jersey will apply for a fed
eral Medicaid waiver to
save
$300 million through changes to Medicaid eligibility and management. If approved by federal
officials, the waiver would further restrict
eligibility requirements for future enrollees, which state
officials say
would prevent 23,000 currently uninsured but Medicaid
-eligible individuals from obtaining
Medicaid coverage. The plan would also move more Medicaid beneficiaries from fee
-for-service
(FFS)
plans
into managed care
plans
and require a $25 copayment for non
-emergency care
delivered in
hospital emergency rooms ( AP via Bloomberg, 5/25 ).
Update: Senate Approves Resolution Urging State to Apply for Youth Behavioral Health Funding
: The
New Jersey Senate
has approved a resolution urging
the state
to apply for federal funds to improve
youth access to behavioral health services. The legislation encourages state officials to apply for U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services
(HHS) grant funding to estab
lish a pilot program in Bergen
County that would provide primary care providers with access to a child psychiatric team for
assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of youth behavioral health issues. The state must apply
for the
grant
by June 2 ( Fort Lee Patch, 5/27 ).
New
Mexico
State
Hiring Private Firm to Redesign Medicaid Program
: On May 27,
Governor Susana Martinez222s
(R)
administration announced plans to pay a private consulting firm $1.7 million to redesign the state222s
Medicaid program. Requiring federal approval, state officials hope to have a completed plan by
the
fall
and
aim to implement
the plan within two years
( AP via The Republic, 5/27 ).
Pennsylvania
House
Approves Budget
with
$2.1
Billion for Mental Health and Developmental Disability Services: On
May
24, the
Pennsylvania House
approved a $27.3 billion budget for the
coming
fiscal year. The budget
includes $2.1
billion for mental health and developmental disability services
,
and
now goes before the
Pennsylvania Senate
( WPMT, 5/25 ; Dormont-Brookline Patch, 5/25 ).
Oregon
Legislators
Propose Medicaid Financing Plan
to
Eliminate
Projected
OHA Deficit
: On May 25, state
lawmakers
proposed a plan to reduce Medicaid reimbursements rates and raise Oregon222s
current
hospital assessment to address a projected
$697 million Oregon Health Authority
(OHA)
deficit
for
the
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
June 1, 2011
6/1/2011
5
next biennium. Unlike
Governor John Kitzhaber222s
(D) proposal to reduce Medicaid hospital and
provider reimbursement rates by 19 percent, the plan would reduce reimbursement rates by only 11.5
percent. However, to accommodate the reduced rate cut, the plan would raise the state222s
hospital
assessment by 1.69 percent
,
to approximately 4 percent. Lawmakers say the increase would raise $260
million over two years, which would draw down an additional $400 million in federal matching funds.
The
Oregon Legislature
will consider the proposal as part of ongoing budget deliberations ( AP via Forbes, 5/26 ).
Tennessee
Senate Approves Pain Management
Oversight Bill:
On May 19, the Tennessee
Senate
unanimously
approved legislation (
SB 1528) designed
to improve oversight of pain management clinics to reduce
prescription
drug abuse. Beginning January 1, 2012, the bill would require Tennessee Department of
Health
(DOH) certification
for
pain man
agement clinics, with a $1,000 daily
fine for noncompliance. The
bill would also bar clinics from accepting cash for anything other than copayments, coinsurance, or
deductibles.
In addition, u
nder the bill, clinics222 medical directors must be licensed phy
sician
s
and must
be present on site for at least 20 percent of the facility222s operating hours. The bill now goes before
Governor Bill Haslam
(D) ( Knoxville
News Sentinel, 5/26 ).
Texas
Update:
Legislature Approves
Budget
Reducing Medicaid Reimbursement Rates
: On May 28, the Texas
House
and
Senate
approved a $172 billion budget for the next biennium, cutting spending by
$15 billion
from current levels. To save $800 million, the budget would reduce current
Medicaid reimbursement
rates. In addition, the budget does not include the projected $4.8 billion necessary to satisfy the
expected Medicaid growth. The budget now goes before Governor Rick Perry
(R) ( The Dallas Morning News, 5/26 ; Reuters, 5/29 ; Bloomberg, 5/28 ).
Update: Senate
Approves Health Reform Financial Anal
ysis Legislation
: On May 24, the Texas Senate
approved legislation (
HB 335
) requiring all state agencies to seek a Texas
Legislative Budget Board
fiscal
analysis
to estimate implementation costs applicable
aspects of the national health care reform law.
T
he Senate amended the Texas House
-
approved
version of the
bill, which would have required the
agencies to conduct analyses prior to implementation. The bill also requires state agencies to report
increases in federal funding and cost savings achieved
thro
ugh health reform implementation. The bill
now goes before a legislative conference committee ( The Texas Tribune, 5/24 ).
W
ashington
Update: Legislature Approves $32 Billion Budget Allocating Drug Settlement Funding for Mental
Health Services
:
On May 25, the
Washington Legislature
approved a two
-year $32 billion budget
that
reduces
Medicaid provider reimbursement rates. In addition, the budget allocates
$1.57 million for
mental health services from Washington222s
share of a
$520 million
federal settlement with AstraZeneca
Pharmaceuticals LP, which ended
the
U.S. Department of Justice222s
(DOJ) investigation into the alleged
illega
l marketing of its antipsychotic drug, Seroquel. The allocations include
$700,000 for a
University of
Washington
program
supporting
evidence-based youth mental health services
,
$570,000 to support a
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
June 1, 2011
6/1/2011
6
prescriber access line for child mental health consultat
ions
,
and $300,000 to improve mental health
drug prescribing practices. The budget now goes before Governor Chris Gregoire
(D)
( Washington State Office of the Attorney General, 5/27 ; Seattle Times
-
Newspaper, 5/25 ; Kaiser Health News, 5/26 ).
