Latest California Healthline Stories
No Diversion of Mental Health Money
A Senate budget subcommittee last week rejected a plan to divert roughly $34 million a year for mental health services to a CalWORKs (California Work Opportunity and Responsibility to Kids) fund.
The California Department of Finance wanted to redistribute realignment money so half the funds currently going to mental health services would instead be shared equally between mental health and CalWORKs starting in 2015-16.
“The realignment funds going into the CalWORKs maintenance of effort subaccount are capped at $1.1 billion, at which point any additional funds, or growth over that amount, are routed to the mental health subaccount,” said Judy Bowman from the Department of Finance, at last week’s Senate Budget Subcommittee for Health and Human Services hearing. “This … would adjust that structure so that those growth funds … would instead be split evenly between the mental health subaccount and the CalWORKs maintenance of effort subaccount.”
Concern over Mental Health Provider Shortage
Legislation introduced last week would expand the scope of practice for nurse practitioners, optometrists and pharmacists. Separate legislation looks to expand scope of practice for physician assistants, as well.
The bills hope to address the dearth of primary care providers in California by allowing some mid-level health care providers to do more. With the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of Medi-Cal and introduction of the state exchange starting in 2014, there is expected to be a much greater need for primary care services.
Some mental health providers are citing a similar access concern for mental health professionals. Since the state’s essential health benefits include mental health coverage, the demand for mental health services is going to take a big leap, according to psychologist John Caccavale, executive director of the National Alliance of Professional Psychology Providers.
Stakeholders See California as National Model for Revamping Mental Health Care Services
Kirsten Barlow of the California Mental Health Directors Association, Sonoma County Mental Health Director Michael Kennedy, Rusty Selix of the California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies and Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg spoke with California Healthline about California’s experience revamping its mental health care system.
Should Calif. Be Model for National Mental Health System?
We asked mental health experts and lawmakers how California and the nation should respond to the public debate triggered by the killing of 26 people at an elementary school last month. Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg has urged the White House to use California’s mental health system as a national model.
Sonoma Center Facing State Sanctions
The California Department of Public Health took a major step this week toward decertifying and revoking the license of the intermediate care facility at Sonoma Developmental Center.
The Sonoma facility, which serves 290 people with intellectual disabilities, is expected to appeal the state action.
The original survey in July by the Department of Public Health found 57 deficiencies, and four instances of immediate jeopardy to residents. The facility had two three-month periods to correct those problems. According to CDPH officials, time is up.
Uninsured Eligible for Mental Health Services
When major portions of the Affordable Care Act are implemented in 2014, almost all of the 500,000 uninsured Californians who were previously identified as being in need of mental health services will be eligible for those services, either through Medi-Cal expansion or the exchange, according to a study released yesterday by the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research.
“Last year we did a mental health report, and what we found is there are 500,000 or so people in California who are uninsured and in need of mental health services, so this year we wanted to see who among them would be eligible for coverage under the Affordable Care Act,” said Imelda Padilla-Frausto, lead author of the report released yesterday.
“We found about half of them would be eligible through expansion, and another 42% through the exchange,” Padilla-Frausto said. “That’s practically everyone. It’s a huge improvement for those adults who don’t have insurance coverage.”
Saving Money, Lives with Mental Health Program
A new study by the UCLA Center for Healthier Children, Families and Communities suggests an intensive and integrated mental health program called Full Service Partnerships is likely to save the state money at a return rate of $1.27 for every dollar spent.
The FSP program is designed to care for individuals with serious mental illness by taking a holistic approach to their care, according to Renay Bradley, chief of research and evaluation at the UCLA center.
“The idea is, if you have individuals who are particularly challenged, such as homeless individuals or just people who need a lot of assistance, they’re funneled into FSPs,” Bradley said. “And they do whatever it takes to get them to a decent level of functioning.”
New Plan’s Holistic Approach to Mental Illness in Los Angeles
A new plan to provide mental health and medical coverage in Los Angeles County is taking a holistic approach to dealing with the common “tri-morbidity” — medical problems, mental illness and addiction.
Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment Changing
New guidelines in the Affordable Care Act and new responsibilities for county governments mean significant changes ahead for mental health care and substance abuse treatment in California.
Oversight Commission: ‘Descriptions Incomplete’
A state oversight commission found little to no substance in reports of programmatic misconduct in its initial report released yesterday on concerns raised over compliance with Mental Health Services Act program in California.
“Basically, in the programs that were mentioned, the descriptions of those programs were incomplete,” said Jennifer Whitney, chief of communications for the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. “And that painted a very different picture of the programs.”
Several recent news reports questioned 13 different programmatic elements that supposedly used MHSA funds for such things as yoga classes and a sweat lodge.