Will Opioid Addiction get Worse with the American Health Care Act?

Have you been wondering how the American Health Care Act (AHCA) may impact the current U.S. crisis of opioid addiction? Newsweek recently wrote an article outlining the sobering truth about how the AHCA may result in patients not receiving care they need. Addiction is a condition that is treatable. So, why wouldn’t patients receive quality treatment?

Newsweek spoke with Dr. Yngvild Olsen from the Coalition to Stop Opioid Overdose about what patients with addiction may face if the AHCA became law. “Dr. Olsen, who also sits on the board of directors at the American Society of Addiction Medicine, says she may soon contend with the prospects of turning patients away”.

The article discusses how, if AHCA were to become law, the bill would negatively affect substance abuse patients by potentially making substance abuse treatment unaffordable. Essentially, as Dr. Olsen explained, the bill would truncate many of the protections and benefits of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including medicaid expansion. She goes on to mention that although the opioid crisis is a bipartisan issue, it is also a financial issue. Individual states haven’t had the money to properly handle this opioid crisis. With AHCA’s planned cap on medicaid, this lack of funding would get worse. Under the AHCA, it’s very possible that states would not be able to continue covering funding to adequately treat addiction.

You can read the full article article, written by Jessica Firger,  here.

Megan Phillips, M.A.

Reference:

Firger, J. (2017, May 6). The Plight of Opioid Addiction may get a lot worse with the American Health Care Act. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2017/03/27/changing-attitudes-harder-than-changing-law/8zC7BnYq4mC3SC7amioU2M/story.html#comments

Upsurge in HIPAA Audits

There has been a considerable increase in Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) activity. Common HIPAA violations have ranged from stolen workplace computers to misuse of personal health information by contractors. As a result, record setting levels of HIPAA enforcement and fines were documented in 2016.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office for Civil Rights (OCR) settled alleged HIPAA violations with 12 healthcare organizations in 2016.  Approximately $23 million in fines were collected by OCR to resolve these alleged HIPAA violations. Seven of these settlements were in excess of $1,500,000 (See:  OCR HIPAA Enforcement: Summary of 2016 HIPAA Settlements). So far, substantial HIPAA fines and settlements have been made in 2017 as well. It appears this upsurge in audits will continue to increase.

What are some basic tips to help prepare an organization for a HIPAA Audit?

1. Run an up-to-date risk assessment that evaluates how vulnerable your organization is to security breaches.
2. Ensure policies and procedures are current and regularly updated.
3. Confirm that your training program(s) are well-managed, active and up-to-date.
4. Triple-check your processes to make sure employees are implementing guidelines. Be certain that employees understand their security duties, how and where all protected health information is warehoused, and are readily able to describe how they act on their compliance duties in their day-to-day work. Specifically, ensure everyone who could potentially be involved in a HIPAA breach process understands their roles when reporting incidents.
5. Make sure documentation is organized and accessible for an auditor.

Brown Consulting, Ltd. can help you guarantee HIPAA compliance!

We have over 30 years of experience helping behavioral health organizations meet HIPAA requirements! Our HIPAA Compliance Analysis involves reviewing your current processes, providing recommendations, and providing you with concrete examples of plans, policies and procedures, forms, contracts, positions descriptions and other documentation to ensure your organization is successful.  Services also include interactive work-groups and training with staff.

-Megan Phillips, M.A.

References:

http://www.hipaajournal.com/ocr-hipaa-enforcement-summary-2016-hipaa-settlements-8646/

Ohio BH Redesign Webinars!

Two webinars will take place this month to further assist Ohio providers navigate the BH redesign. The first webinar is a final overview of the BH redesign, which fully takes effect on July 1, 2017. The second webinar will include an outline of how BH agencies can submit prior authorization requests. Register below:

Behavioral Health Redesign “401” Training – May 22

The Ohio Department of Medicaid (ODM) and the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS) will host a Behavioral Health Redesign “401” webinar on May 22. This training will serve as a final comprehensive overview of the BH Redesign changes scheduled to take effect on July 1, 2017. The webinar will begin at 10 a.m. and finish around 3 p.m. The training will pause around noon for a one hour lunch break. Click HERE to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Prior Authorization Training – May 23

ODM is hosting a training webinar on May 23  from 1-3 p.m. that will provide step-by-step instructions on how community behavioral health agencies can submit requests for prior authorization for services such as ACT, IHBT, SUD Partial Hospitalization, SUD Residential, etc. Click HERE to register. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Note: Both webinars will be recorded. The recordings and slide presentations will be posted to the BH.Medicaid.Ohio.Gov web site.

For more information on Behavioral Health Medicaid Redesign, visit http://bh.medicaid.ohio.gov.

Reference:

E. Wandersleben, e-mail communication, May 8, 2017

President Trump announced Nomination for the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services

On April 21st, President Donald Trump announced his nomination of Elinore McCance-Katz, MD, PhD to serve as the Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use in the Department of Health and Human Services. Dr. McCance-Katz is a psychiatrist with a sub-specialty in addiction psychiatry with more than 25 years of experience as a clinician, teacher, and clinical researcher. She is currently the chief medical officer for the Rhode Island Department of Behavioral Healthcare, Developmental Disabilities, and Hospitals. She served as the first Chief Medical Officer for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Read more about the nomination of Elinore McCance-Katz, MD, PhD as well as other key administration personnel here.

Reference: https://www.jointcommission.org/about_us/about_the_joint_commission_main.aspx