California Law Aims to Strengthen Access to Mental Health Services The number of people with symptoms of depression and anxiety has nearly quadrupled during the covid pandemic, which has made it even more maddeningly difficult to get timely mental health care, even if you have good insurance. A California law signed Oct. 8 by Gov. Gavin Newsom could help. It requires that mental health and substance abuse patients be offered return appointments no more than 10 days after a previous session, unless their provider OKs less frequent visits. Current insurance regulations already require giving patients an initial mental health visit no more than 10 ... October 29, 2021 COVID19, Healthcare, Mental Health, Patient Care Healthcare, Mental Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
Raising the Bar for Behavioral Health Care During the COVID-19 pandemic, the American public developed a deeper appreciation for behavioral health care, the umbrella term for mental health and substance use treatment. While demand for it is soaring, the US health care system is still falling far short. Despite significant spending, people with behavioral health conditions still suffer greatly. They experience more illness, poorer health outcomes, and a shorter life expectancy than the general population — often from preventable physical health conditions. State and federal governments are providing additional funds to improve behavioral health care, but ... October 26, 2021 COVID19, Healthcare, Mental Health Behavioral Health, COVID-19 0 0 Comment Read More »
In Their Own Words: How Fragmented Care Harms People with Both Mental Illness and Substance Use Disorder For the 8.9 million American adults — about 500,000 Californians — with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance use disorder, it can be difficult to receive fully coordinated and effective care. For people with low incomes, the barriers can be even higher and lead to unnecessary suffering and poor health outcomes. To better understand how Californians with dual diagnoses experience treatment, CHCF commissioned interviews with 54 people insured through Medi-Cal who have both mental illness and substance use disorder (SUD), as well as additional interviews with the family ... October 5, 2021 Healthcare, Medi-Cal, Mental Health Fragmented Care, Health Outcomes, Mental Health 0 0 Comment Read More »
2022 Medicare Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Quality Payment Program (OPP) Proposed Rule Summary Physician Payment Schedule On July 13, 2021, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) released the Calendar Year (CY) 2022 Revisions to Payment Policies under the Physician Fee Schedule (PFS) and Other Changes to Part B Payment Policies proposed rule (published in the Federal Register on July 23, 2021 – Docket number CMS-1751-P). In addition, CMS published a fact sheet on the PFS proposed rule highlighting the key provisions. If finalized, the proposed policies in the rule will take effect on January 1, 2022. CMS is requesting that comments ... August 3, 2021 Healthcare, Medicare Medicare, Services, Telehealth 0 0 Comment Read More »
August Webinar Series: AMA Steps Forward This AMA STEPS Forward™ webinar will outline best practices for implementing new health care technologies—including telehealth—in practice in an equitable, inclusive way focusing on both the impact to marginalized and minoritized patients and the clinicians and systems that care for them. The AMA STEPS Forward™ webinar series has one event coming up in August that we wanted to make you aware of and encourage you to share: Implementing innovative solutions with an equity lens Registration link: https://www.ama-assn.org/delivering-care/health-equity/ama-steps-forward-webinar-series-innovative-solutions-equity-lens August 10, 2021, noon – 1 p.m. CT The AMA STEPS Forward™ webinar series provides interactive instruction from ... July 19, 2021 Healthcare, Patient Care, Physician Workforce Equity, Health Care Technologies, Telehealth 0 0 Comment Read More »
