NJAMHAA-FY21-annual-report

14 Addictions Practice Group Chair: Mary Gay Abbott-Young, LCADC, NJAMHAA and NJMHI Board Member and President, Rescue Mission of Trenton Vice Chair: Kendria McWilliams, MBA, NJMHI Board Chair and Chief Executive Officer, Maryville Addiction Treatment Centers The Addictions Practice Group’s advocacy over the previous two years paid off with an increased reimbursement rate for long-term residential substance use treatment that was put into effect on July 1, 2020, despite fiscal challenges that were mostly due to the coronavirus pandemic. In April 2021, several members and NJAMHAA staff met with Medicaid representatives to express concerns about the new policy concerning billing for drug screening and definitive testing and their likely adverse impact on individuals receiving treatment. As a result, Medicaid clarified issues and made some changes to the policy. Key areas of ongoing advocacy include licensure; rate increases for outpatient and other services; fee-for-service reimbursement for advanced practice nurses’ provision of medication assisted treatment in non-opioid treatment program settings and use of funds from the opioid settlement. In addition, the group is gathering data on the census in each program to help make an even more compelling case for increased funding, and advocating on the state and national levels for a waiver on the requirements for certified peer support specialists to have high school or graduate equivalency diplomas, and to allow Medicare billing for all substance use disorder (SUD) services. Adult Mental Health Practice Group Co-Chairs: Julie Drew, LCSW, MPA, System Executive Director, Behavioral Health, AtlantiCare; Frank Ghinassi, PhD, ABPP, President and CEO of Rutgers University Behavioral Health Care and Senior Vice President, Behavioral Health and Addictions Service Line, RWJBarnabas Health – Both co-chairs are also members of the NJAMHAA and New Jersey Mental Health Institute (NJMHI) Boards. Key advocacy areas for the Adult Mental Health Practice Group include sustained and increased funding, permanency of telehealth flexibilities, workforce development and access to COVID-19 vaccines. Topics of guest presentations included AtlantiCare Health System’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Initiatives; the Newark Hope Village Pilot Project, which provided short-term housing and linkages to long-term services to individuals who were homeless; best practices for providing integrated care; AtlantiCare and Atlantic Health Systems’ COVID recovery centers; accreditation and accrediting bodies; CarePlus NJ’s Maternal & Family Center; workers’ compensation in New Jersey; and outcomes measures and the National Quality Forum report. As part of NJAMHAA’s ongoing efforts to address providers’ concerns, the staff invited representatives from LogistiCare and Medicaid to resolve challenges encountered with transportation provided by LogistiCare, which now operates under the name ModivCare. Members Contribute to NJAMHAA’s Impact through Practice Group Participation NJAMHAA’s practice groups continued to be popular forums for members in similar programs and roles to share their challenges and concerns, and develop strategies to proactively address them. These discussions are extremely valuable to NJAMHAA as they provide details that strengthen advocacy messages, resulting in the trade association’s substantial influence on legislation, regulations and policies. As expected, all groups discussed the impact of COVID-19 on staffing, safety, revenues and expenses. Several of these conversations focused on best practices and other strategies for continuing to effectively serve existing service recipients and taking on a consistently increasing number of clients, as well as protocols for returning to the workplace. All of these conversations contributed to NJAMHAA’s impactful advocacy for regulatory changes and financial support during this particularly challenging time. In addition, the groups frequently host guest presenters on a variety of clinical and policy topics, which commonly attract many more members than those who had joined any of these groups. This has led to increased consistent participation and richer discussions about all issues affecting members and the individuals they serve.