The RAND Corporation recently released a report expounding the virtues of electronic health records systems’ positive impact on healthcare costs. This hotly debated topic almost always addresses the cost of medical care, hospitalizations, labs, imaging and surgery and almost never includes the cost of behavioral health. Our field’s rate of technology adoption probably has something [...]

Next week’s webinar will offer payors a roadmap to readiness. Register here:
http://behavioralhealthcentral.com/index.php/Event-Registration/vmchk.ht
Parity Legislation Compliance Webinar Series
Part 1: Getting Ready for Mental Health Parity
Wednesday, December 9 at 2 p.m.

Sign up on or before December 4th and save $150! Enter ”parity” at checkout to receive your early registration discount.
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) was signed into [...]

On November 4th Cindy Mann of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) offered a rare glimpse into the guidance and direction plans and providers around the country are anticipating in January. Specifically, her letter was directed to “State Health Officials” responsible for Medicaid and CHIP. Her purpose was to provide some “general guidance” [...]

When the 2009 State of Health Care Quality Report lists 5 trouble spots – and all are related to behavioral healthcare – it should catalyze our efforts to achieve quality goals in our field. How do we make it happen?
I am suggesting that we approach quality in our field the same way we’ve been forced [...]

Last week, the President of the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), Margaret O’Kane, reported that quality of care in the United States did not improve in 2008. She went on to say that she believes health reform must address quality. A review of the report makes it abundantly clear to this author that one [...]

Those of you with no legal background, brace yourselves for this opening line: The Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA) – which is housed within the Department of Labor and oversees ERISA – through their Office of Health Plan Standards and Compliance Assistance, states that Parity will be subject to the “anti-abuse” proposed rule – 29 C.F.R. [...]

I am attending the California Association of Health Plans annual conference this week and thought I would share some of what I am observing. For starters, Howard Khan, CEO of LA Care Health Plan and Chairman of CAHP Board provided a keynote that immediately established the context where health plans are concerned. He pointed to [...]

The Commonwealth Fund has released it 2009 report titled: “Aiming Higher – Results from A State Scorecard on Health System Performance” and the evidence is irrefutable where suicide prevention is concerned.  States that demonstrate improved access to mental health care, especially among the most vulnerable populations, show a dramatic decrease in the rate of [...]

Tuesday, the Senate Finance Committee will take up the fate of at least one reform proposal. On the eve of that vote, the American Health Insurance Plans (AHIP) released a report prepared by PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) demonstrating the bill will wind up costing more than its authors are admitting. Talking heads are exploding in an uproar [...]

Surprised about the delay? No, but employers and plans will need to move forward carefully, doing everything they can to comply reasonably and in “good faith” until we receive clarification.
On October 2nd, HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius wrote to House and Senate lawmakers saying that the administration “aims” to issue regulations for the one-year old mental [...]