January 2, 2025
SAVE THE DATE!!
Next Thursday (1/9/25) during our Thursday morning NYS Council Member Support call from 9:15 – 10:00, representatives from 3 of the NYS Workforce Investment Organizations (WIOs) that are responsible for rolling out the NYSCareer Pathways Training Initiative (CPTI) that was approved as part of New York’s 1115 HER waiver, will join us to share details regarding the benefits of staff participation in this new Program, as well as ways providers can afford to make this benefit a reality for eligible workers.
Please save the date/time and use the link (below) to access the call:
Topic: NYS Council Weekly Member Support Call: CPTI Initiative
Time: Thursday, Jan 9, 2025 starting at 9:15 AM sharp
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86270941266?pwd=OUFFSTRSaWZDOFRVNk8xUHBXY3Z5QT09
Meeting ID: 862 7094 1266
Passcode: 619723
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Here’s an article from the NY Times that ran last week. Includes a discussion of the OnTrackNY Program (here in NY). I have pasted a gift link directly below so everyone can access this important article:
https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/30/health/schizophrenia-early-intervention-treatment.html unlocked_article_code=1.mE4.d5Tq.2RZl3QZ5BKsR&smid=url-share
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In 2025, there are at least 10 key federal policy reforms impacting behavioral health providers that we should keep on our radar. That list includes the following:
- CMS will implement the Innovation in Behavioral Health model, a program designed to bridge gaps between behavioral and physical health. Four states will participate in the program in 2025.
- CMS will introduce policy changes aimed at promoting safety planning and follow-up for patients discharged from emergency departments after a mental health crisis. The agency will introduce separate coding and payment for safety planning intervention, which can help prevent suicide when properly implemented, according to CMS. The agency will also create a monthly billing code for follow-up contacts for patients discharged from the emergency room after a crisis.
- FDA-approved digital mental health devices when used by behavioral health providers as part of a care plan will become eligible for Medicare reimbursement.
- CMS will allow providers limited to diagnosing and treating mental illness, including clinical psychologists, social workers and marriage and family therapists, to bill for interprofessional consultations.
- New requirements for Medicare Advantage plans to maintain adequate networks of outpatient behavioral health providers will take effect.
- CMS will increase inpatient payment rates for behavioral health facilities by 2.8% for 2025. The agency will also reduce the rate for outlier payments, which will decrease aggregate payments by 0.3%, according to CMS estimates. The agency expects to pay inpatient psychiatric facilities $65 million more in 2025 than in 2024, an increase of 2.5%.
- CMS will require facilities to report 30-day, all-cause emergency department visits for patients discharged. The agency will not require facilities to report this metric on a quarterly basis, as it proposed in its March proposed rule.
- New regulations designed to toughen enforcement on mental health parity standards will take effect this year. The rules, finalized in September, will bar health plans from implementing stricter prior authorization requirements for mental healthcare than for medical or surgical benefits.
- The rule will also require health plans to study their mental health networks, payment rates and prior authorization policies to ensure they are not more restrictive than for medical care.
- Congress extended some telehealth flexibilities in place during the COVID-19 pandemic for three months in a stopgap spending bill last month. The bill extended the waiver of a requirement for behavioral telehealth providers to see patients in person once every six months to receive Medicare payments through the end of March 2025.
(Source: Becker’s, 1/2/25)
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OMH Announcement:
Regional Advisory Committee and Community Engagement Session: Wednesday, January 15, 2025, 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Happy New Year!
The Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services is excited to be hosting a unique Regional Advisory Committee meeting as our first RAC of 2025. The January RAC will also serve as our first virtual Statewide Community Engagement Session, and we will be joined by Commissioner Sullivan!
Please register in advance of the meeting: https://omh-ny.zoomgov.com/meeting/register/vJItde6srj4qH2EwD7LBDurJ3AwXnCDFf-g
After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.
Please reach out to feedbackoapss@omh.ny.gov with any questions.
The 2023 Community Engagement Sessions took OMH across New York. Now, we are returning to share what we did with your feedback and hear more about your needs and your ideas. In October, we started a new round of in-person sessions in New York City and are actively planning more around the state. We are also planning on holding a series of virtual events for community members who may not be able to access an in-person event. The January RAC is the first of these sessions.
The sessions are open to all community members. We especially want to hear from people who receive or have received mental health services, and people who have wanted to get services but haven’t. Youth and families are encouraged to attend!
AGENDA (subject to change)
12:30 p.m. to 12:40 p.m. Networking, Sound Check, Orientation to the technology
12:40 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. Welcoming Remarks (OAPSS Leadership)
1:00 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. Presentation from Commissioner Sullivan
1:45 p.m. to 2:20 p.m. Open Comment Period
2:20 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Break
2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Breakout groups
4:00 p.m. to 4:10 p.m. Break
4:10 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Report outs from breakout sessions
We hope to see you there!
– The OMH Office of Advocacy and Peer Support Services