PRA Highlights Public Policy Issues at Recovery Workforce Summit

At PRA’s recent Workforce Recovery Summit: PRA Annual Conference in Baltimore, PRA was pleased to highlight many important health policy issues relevant to our membership. In an excellent keynote address, Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds spoke of both his personal family experience as well as his policy efforts aimed at ensuring that other families are not touched by the tragedy that affected his. He spoke of his leadership in Virginia to both institute near term changes to get more services to people with an acute need, as well as a long term commission to examine Virginia policies and services to better serve the people of the Commonwealth.

Colin Roskey, JD, Partner at the Washington, DC law firm of Alston & Bird, joined me for a session focused on federal public policy issues, including the Affordable Care Act, Medicaid managed care, and demonstrations for those “dually eligible” for Medicaid and Medicare. The panel also discussed the recently passed Protecting Access to Medicare Act, passed May 31, 2014. As a positive, this legislation included a pilot program that would create Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CBHCs) in up to eight states. The program is designed to serve individuals with serious mental health and substance abuse challenges and to provide comprehensive care – including psychiatric rehabilitation services – in an integrated care setting. As a negative, the legislation authorized, but did not appropriate funds, for a grant program that would offer grants to community entities seeking to expand assisted outpatient treatment programs. As we look to the end of the 2014 calendar year, it is possible that Congress will fund this currently unfunded grant program. PRA is actively monitoring the congressional disposition and will share key information as it becomes available.

At the Summit, PRA was proud to be joined for a discussion regarding Medicaid by Matt Salo, Executive Director of the National Association of Medicaid Directors. Salo led an active discussion among an interested group of participants on a wide ranging set of Medicaid topics including managed care, integrated care, duals demonstrations, and more. Salo’s message to the audience was clear: Medicaid directors and their programs want to provide good care to beneficiaries, but state budgets are constrained and must seek out good value propositions. Advocates seeking to have psychiatric rehabilitation services covered in Medicaid services would be well served to demonstrate that cost savings can be found within Medicaid. 

PRA appreciates all who joined us for the PRA Recovery Workforce Summit and our many speakers, including these and others who focused on policy issues.