Regulations & Legislation | Behavioral Health Today

HHS announces new Affordable Care Act options for community-based care

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 26, 2012 Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 Medicaid and Medicare introduce greater flexibility for beneficiaries to receive care at home or in settings of their choice

New opportunities in Medicaid and Medicare that will allow people to more easily receive care and services in their communities rather than [...]

New: GAO Report Identifies Mental Health Among Top Three Pre-Existing Conditions Leading to Denial of Insurance Coverage

Hypertension, mental health disorders and diabetes are the most commonly found medical conditions among adults that could lead to a health insurer denying coverage, the Government Accountability Office concluded in a new report about pre-existing conditions (PDF).

SAMHSA Releases Mental Health 2010 Report

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) today released Mental Health, United States, 2010, the latest in a series of publications issued biannually by SAMHSA since 1980. Modeled after CDC’s annual report, Health, US, this new report includes mental health statistics at the national and State levels from 35 different data [...]

Additional Coverage for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Won’t Hurt Employers, According to New Thomson Reuters Research

Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Make up only 2.2% of Employer Health Spending

WASHINGTON, April 12, 2012 /PRNewswire via COMTEX/ — The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) is unlikely to have a large effect on the growth rate of employer healthcare expenditures, according to two new studies conducted by researchers [...]

Commonwealth Fund Report: States Actions Implementing Affordable Care Act’s Early Health Insurance Market Reforms

March 22, 2012

Contact(s):

Mary Mahon Public Information Officer TEL 212-606-3853, cell phone 917-225-2314, mm@cmwf.org

Jemma Weymouth TEL (301) 280-5706; jweymouth@burnesscommunications.com

March 22, 2012, New York, NY—As the second anniversary of the Affordable Care Act approaches, a new Commonwealth Fund report finds that 49 states and the District of Columbia have already taken action [...]

Health Insurance Exchange Final Rule: Impact on Behavioral Health

On March 12, HHS published a final rule on Affordable Health Insurance Exchanges. The Exchange final rule includes standards for:

The establishment and operation of an Exchange Health insurance plans that participate in an Exchange Determinations of an individual’s eligibility to enroll in Exchange health plans and in insurance affordability programs Enrollment in health [...]

Affordable Care Act Demonstration to Expand Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care

New demonstration program to help States to improve the quality of care for patients with psychiatric emergency

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: CMS Media Relations Group

March 13, 2012 (202) 690-6145

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) today announced that 11 States and the District of Columbia will participate in [...]

Preserving the Safety Net: Behavioral Health Field Can Learn From Commonwealth Fund Report and Recommendations

The Commonwealth Fund released a report of recommendations aimed at preserving the fragile safety net. Specifically, the report addresses safety net hospitals that treat a disproportionate share of the indigent and uninsured populations. As the uninsured become insured (primarily via Medicaid expansion and health insurance exchanges) these facilities – like much of the mental health [...]

Health Care Reform Law Ends Lifetime Limits for 105 Million Americans

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 5, 2012 Contact: HHS Press Office (202) 690-6343 Health reform law ends lifetime limits for 105 million Americans

State-by-state data available

Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius released a new report today on how the health reform law has eliminated lifetime limits on coverage for more than 105 [...]

Behavioral Health Providers’ Red Flag: AMA asks (again) that HHS Pull the Plug on ICD-10 Implementation in 2013

Citing significant financial and administrative burdens, the AMA has asked Secretary Sebelius to postpone and streamline the 2013 mandated conversion to ICD-10. The AMA is clear that there are a wide range of health information technology initiatives and regulations they have to adopt and comply with right now and contends that converting from the [...]

Recent Posts