SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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ndiana Kentucky Louisiana Massachusetts New Jersey New
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ew York O
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SAMHSA222s Financing News Pulse is a news consolidation service, designed to provide readers with streamlined
access to information published by local, regional, and national media.
While the News Pulse attempts to verify
our content, the editors of each publication cited in the summaries are ultimately responsible for the accuracy of
the information they publish. We encourage readers to inform the News Pulse of any errors so we can note them
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SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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Around the States: State and Local Behavioral Health
Financing News Arizona
Update: Superior Court Judge Upholds Medicaid Enrollment Freeze
:
Ruling in a case filed by public
interest law groups, o
n August 10, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark
Brain
determined
that
Arizona222s FY2012 Medicaid eligibility freeze is legal. Authorized under Arizona222s $8.3 billion FY2012
budget and slated to save $207 million, the state has implemented a federally approved Medicaid
enrollment freeze for adults earning more than 75 percent of the federal poverty level (FPL). However,
in 2000, Arizona voters approved a ballot measure (
Proposition 204
) that extended Medicaid coverage
to all adults earning up to 100 percent of the FPL. The suit alleged that the freeze
violates the state
constitution because it effectively repeals the voter
-
approved measure
; however, Judge Brain ruled
that
the
Arizona Legislature is not required
to fund Proposition 204. The plaintiffs say they plan to appeal
the case ( AP via Bloomberg, 8/10 ; The Arizona Republic, 8/11 ).
California
Governor Vetoes Veterans Behavioral Health Court Bill
:
Citing a lack of funding,
on August 5
,
Governor
Jerry Brown
(D)
vetoed a bill (
AB
201)
that
would have
established court guidelines and
encouraged the
creation of more veterans behavioral health treatment courts. In California, such courts allow both
violent and non
-
violent
veteran offenders
to obtain behavioral health treatment in lieu of jail time. The
FY2011 budget reduces state judicial branch funding by $350 million ( Join Together, 8/10 ; Stars and Stripes, 8/9 ).
Los
Angeles
County Opens $10.8 Million Mental Health Facility
:
On
August 10, Los Angeles County
opened a $10.8 million mental health urgent care center in Sylmar. Financed with
$6.65 million
in
county funds and
$4.15 million in
Mental Health Services Act of 2004 (
Proposition 63)
funding, c
ounty
officials say the new facility will reduce crowding at area
mental health facilities ( Los Angeles Times, 8/10 ).
Connecticut
Audit Finds OHCA Failed to Collect $47,000 in Hospital Assessment
s
: State audit
ors have released a report
finding that, during FY2008 and FY2009
,
the
Connecticut Office of Health Care Access
(OHCA)
failed to collect approximately $47,000 in hospital assessments and related fees. In addition, the
auditors found that
OHCA inadequately addressed
consumer
complaints that hospitals
222 charges differed
from
prices listed with OHCA.
State law requires hospitals to report service prices to OHCA and levies a
$500 fine for discrepancies between
actual charge
s
and
listed rates
( Connecticut Mirror, 8/11 ; Kaiser Health N
ews, 8/12 ).
Florida
BCBS
to Terminate Behavioral Health Provider Contracts
: By November 30,
Blue Cross and Blue Shield
of Florida
(BCBS) will terminate
its
behavioral health provider contracts, turning behavioral health
management
over
to the Kansas
-
bas
ed New Directions Behavioral Health. Providers who wish to
continue treating affected patients will have 15 days to sign new contracts with New Directions, which
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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will reimburse them
25 to 55 percent less
for the same services. The new contracts will also
bar
providers
from referring
patients to out
-
of
-
network providers ( Health News Florida, 8/10 ; Kaiser Health News, 8/11 ).
Update:
CMS Temporar
ily
Extends
Managed Care Pilot During Negotiations
:
The
Centers for Medicare
& Medicaid Services
(CMS) h
as
provided the
Florida Agency for Health Care Administration
(A
HCA)
with another
temporary extension of the state222s five-county Medicaid managed care pilot program to
allow continued negotiation over a long
-
term extension. Originally slated to expire August 14, CMS has
extended the pilot through August 31
while delib
erations continue on a three
-
year extension ( The Miami Herald, 8/12 ).
Idaho
AG
Announces $2.5 Million Medicaid Drug Pricing Se
ttlement
:
On August 11,
Idaho Attorney General
Lawrence Wasden (R) announced that AstraZeneca PLC
agreed to a
$2.5 million settlement with the
state over allegedly inflated average wholesale prices that the company reported to the state222s Medicaid
program.
State officials
contend
that the
artificially inflated
prices
caused the state to
overpay for drugs
purchased through Medicaid. AstraZeneca admitted no wrongdoing in the settlement ( Bloomberg, 8/11 ).
Update:
State Reduces Payment for Medicaid Billing Management
: Citing problems implementing
a
Medicaid payment processing system in 2010, state officials have decided to pay
Molina Medicaid
Solutions
$3 million less than planned
for work
the company performed
between May 2010 and March
2011.
Under the modified payment plan, Molina will receive $12 million. Molina began managing
Idaho222s Medicaid billing in June 2010
and
initially
experienced
problems processing payments in a timely
manner ( AP via KHQ, 8/14 ).
Indiana
Floyd
County Preparing Veterans Behavioral Health Court
: Floyd
County Superior Court officials are
currently preparing a veterans behavioral health treatment court. Serving non-
violent offenders,
officials hope to open the treatment court in the first quarter of 2012
; h
owever, s
tate officials
have yet
to provide
fin
al approval for
the program ( News and Tribune, 8/14 ).
Kentucky
Update:
Medicaid Advisory Council Recommends Delay
ing
Managed Care Expansion: On August 12
,
the
Kentucky Advisory Council for Medical Assistance
proposed
that the state delay by 90 days the
implementation of a Medicaid managed care expansion. Scheduled to begin October 1, the expansion is
designed to reduce Medicaid costs by $375 million over three years.
The council advises the state on
matters pertaining to Medicaid, and is comprised of health professionals representing health care
providers and facilities
that receive Medicaid funding.
Council officials say the
delay
is necessary to
provid
e additional time to implement changes under the expansion ( Lexington Herald
-
Leader, 8/13 ).
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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Louisiana
Update:
Managed Care Companies Challenge DHH over CCN Contr
acts
:
Aetna Inc.
and
Coventry Health
Care Inc.
have challenged the
process that the
Department of Health and Hospitals (DHH)
uses to select
organizations to manage care for Medicaid beneficiaries under Louisiana222s
coordinated care network
(CCN) program
. T
he companies allege that DHH officials did not follow department rules for selecting
participating organizations, particularly claiming
that the state compared
companies222 proposals rather
than analyzing them individually. Authorized under the FY2012 budge
t, the $2.2 billion program will
provide health coverage through private insurers and offer financial incentives for preventive and
primary care. Slated to begin in January, state officials estimate the program will serve over 800,000
beneficiaries and save $135 million in its first year of operation. DHH officials are reviewing the
challenge ( The Times
-
Picayune, 8/8 ; Kaiser Health News, 8/9 ).
Massachusetts
AIM
Study Finds Safety
-
Net Utilization Increased After State Health Reform Law
: The Archives of
Internal Medicine
(AIM) has
published
a study
finding that
demand for services at Massachusetts222
safety
-
net health care providers continued to rise after implementation of the state222s 2006 health care
reform law. From 2005 to 2009, the authors found that the number of patients receiving care at
community health centers rose 31 percent, while the share of uninsured patients at the centers declined
from 36 to 20 percent
over that same period
. In addition, between 2006 and 2009, the stu
dy found that
non-
emergency ambulatory visits to safety
-
net hospitals grew twice as quickly as did
those to non
-
safety
-
net hospitals.
The authors note that p
atients
at safety
-
net
facilities primarily reported using them
because they were convenient and af
fordable. The authors conclude that patients do not view safety
-
net facilities as
providers of last resort and
often
prefer the
ir
services, highlighting the need for
continued
support of safety
-
net providers ( Los Angeles Times, 8/8 ; Kaiser Health News, 8/9 ).
State Recovers
$69 Million in Improper Medicaid Payments in FY2011
: State officials report that the
Massachusetts Attorney General222s Medicaid Fraud Division recovered $69 million in improper
Medicaid payments during FY2011.
The office222s previous single year recovery record
was
$14 million for
FY
20
09 ( AP via The Boston Herald, 8/11 ).
New Jersey
State
to Change Process for Allocating Federal Substance Abuse Prevention Funding
: To meet new
federal funding standards, New Jersey is redirecting federal substance abuse prevention funding from
21 county
-
based resource centers to 17 new regional coalitions. Available for open bidding, the regional
prev
ention coalition
contracts
will focus on strategies to
prevent substance abuse by
changing
social
norms and culture. State officials say the change is necessary to maintain eligibility for the
Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration222s
(S
AMHSA)
Substance Abuse Prevention and
Treatment Block Grants
,
from which
New Jersey receives $5.3 million
. In a related development, the
Passaic County Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Prevention closed
on July 1
, citing notice of the state
funding change,
a failed merger,
and
declin
ing
in grant funding ( The Record, 8/10 ; The Record, 8/10 ).
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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New Mexico
HSD
Requests $100 Million in Additional Medicaid Funding
: The New Mexico Human Services
Department
(HSD) has written a letter to the New Mexico Legisl
ature
requesting
up to
$100 million in
additional appropriations to address a Medicaid deficit. HSD officials attribute the deficit to
underreport
ed
Medicaid spending and program
overbilling. State legislators will
now consider
the
request
( KRQE, 8/10 ).
New York
State
Begins High School Educator Suicide Prevention Training Program
: On August 15, the New York
State Office of Mental Health (NYSOMH) began a three
-
ye
ar program to train high school educators in
suicide prevention. Using software provided by Kognito Interactive, the program is available to
educators at all public and private
high schools
to
help
recognize at
-
risk youth and refer them to the
appropriate
support services ( Kognito Interative via PR Newswire, 8/15 ).
Ohio
Update: State Supreme Court
Approves Proposed Ballot Measure Challenging Health Reform
: On
August 12, the Ohio Supreme Court
ruled that a proposed constitutional amendment to prohibit
enforcement of the national health care reform law222s individual insurance mandate may appear on the
November 8 ballot. If approved by voters, the proposed amendment would prohibit any law from
forcing state residents, employers, or health care providers to participate in a health care system
. A
challenge to the natio
nal health care reform law222s individual insurance mandate, even if enacted, the
amendment would be largely symbolic because federal law would supersede it
( Re
uters, 8/12 ; Kaiser Health News, 8/15 ).
Washington
Governor Requests Proposals to Cut State Agency Spending, Health Care Affected: On August 8,
Governor Chris Gregoire222s
(D)
Administration
sent letters to state agency heads, requesting that
officials prepare proposals to reduce spending at each agency by 5 and 10 percent. Designed to save up
to $1.6 billion, the
cuts would reduce funding at the
Washing
ton Department of Social and Health
Services
(DSHS) and the Washington State Health Care Authority
by up to $573 million and $445
million, respectively ( KAPS, 8/15 ; Herald Net, 8/8 )
West Virginia
Report
Proposes Strategies to Curtail West Virginia Prescription Drug Abuse
: On August 11, state and
federal officials unveiled
a report
examining the state of
prescription drug abuse in West Virginia and
offering recommendations to curtail it. Informed by a February summit of policymakers, health care
professionals, and law enforcement
officials
, the report
offers best practices to reduce the prevalence of
prescript
ion drug abuse in West Virginia,
including increased participation in the state222s prescription
drug monitoring program
(PMP)
. The report also recommends that providers encourage patients
taking
controlled substances
to agree to pill counting, drug testing, and other practices to ensure proper
medication regimen adherence
. The authors also suggest increasing
prevention and intervention
SAMHSA222s Weekly Financing News Pulse: State and Local Edition
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p
rogramming and propose establishing five county
-
based pilot programs to do so this fall ( AP via Charleston Daily Mail, 8/11 ).
