Copy
View this email in your browser

NEWSLETTER 
Volume 3, Issue 11 - March 17, 2023


Governor to Make Big MH Announcement Sunday in San Diego

This year, Governor Newsom will eschew the traditional State of the State (giving a speech to both houses of the Legislature) and will instead provide it in writing perhaps next week. Instead, the Governor is traversing California to speak about 1) homelessness (see below), 2) transforming San Quentin prison, 3) improving health care (tomorrow), and 4) reforming mental health care (Sunday, 1 p.m. in San Diego).

SYASL has intel that the Governor's announcement could entail the following:

  • A proposed bond for facilities / beds in the neighborhood of $2-3 billion; and,
  • Proposed changes to the Mental Health Services Act that would make new / different models of care eligible for funding. 

The Governor's announcement Sunday in San Diego may merit another special edition of the Newsletter. There is some talk of "regional mental health campuses". San Antonio, here we come (Haven for Hope in San Antonio, which is often held up as a national model, refers to itself as a campus)?

We will keep you posted.

 


Eggman Mental Health Bill Package Update 

The County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California have taken an oppose position on SB 43 (Eggman), CSAP's co-sponsored bill to rewrite California's definition of grave disability. You may read their letter here.  SB 43 is set to he heard in the Senate Health Committee on March 29. It will be interesting to see, if rumors about the Governor's announcement Sunday in San Diego are true, how it may change the political dynamic generally in Sacramento, and have ramifications for the fortunes of SB 43 specifically.

SB 363 (Eggman) will be heard in the Senate Health Committee on Wednesday, March 22. 
 


Prescribing

Paul Yoder of SYASL testified before the California Board of Pharmacy on March 15. This Board has a standing item on every agenda for the public to request that the Board agendize issues for subsequent meetings. After Paul's testimony, one of the Board members said the Board should agendize prescribing issues later in the year. SYASL has a meeting request in to the Executive Director of the Board to discuss next steps. Also, after the hearing, staff from the California Medical Association (CMA) contacted Paul to ask if they could coordinate more with CSAP on this issue.

SYASL is also in the process of educating more legislators about recent prescribing issues. A meeting is in the works for next week with the consultants in the Senate Business and Professions Committee, which - among other things - oversees pharmacy issues. CMA will most likely also participate in this meeting. 

Last but certainly not least, "press begets press". What we mean by this is that oftentimes an article in one newspaper or report by a news station will result in other inquiries. Such has been the case in response to the New York Times' recent article on prescribing issue nationally.  KQED and the San Francisco Chronicle reached out to CSAP this week and, once again, Government Affairs Committee (GAC) Chairwoman Emily Woods responded with lengthy interviews. 


According to APA staff, "California's District Branches and CSAP are leading the nation on this issue". 
 

Legislation

The CSAP Governmental Affairs Committee recommended to the Board, and the Board concurred on, the following positions with respect to new legislation. 

Oppose Unless Amended: 
AB 236 (Holden) Health care coverage: provider directories
Seek the following amendments:
(1) Remove the provision about removing a provider from a directory if they have not been compensated for at least 5 claims in a year.
(2) Clarify that the burden to maintain accurate provider directories is the responsibility of the health plan and any burden on a physician should be minimized.
(3) Makes sure that when a patient sees an out-of-network physician and only pays in-network cost-sharing amounts, the physician is made whole or compensated at a fair rate.
(4) Include on every provider directory information about an enrollee's right to timely access to care and who they can contact if the health plan is not meeting that requirement.
(5) Clarify that a physician is not obligated to disclose whether they provide gender-affirming care due to safety, security and privacy concerns.
(6) Ensure that there is due process for a provider if they are mistakenly removed from a plan's provider directory or if the health plan wrongly concludes the information provided to them is inaccurate.


Support:
AB 470 (Valencia) Continuing medical education: physicians and surgeons
AB 765 (Wood) Physicians and surgeons
AB 815 (Wood) Health care coverage: mental health and substance use disorders: provider credentials
SB 487 (Atkins) Abortion: civil actions
SB 582 (Becker) Health records: EHR vendors
SB 598 (Skinner) Health care coverage: prior authorization
   -
SB 598 Fact Sheet
   -2022 AMA prior authorization (PA) physician survey Care 

AB 599 (Ward) Suspensions and expulsions: controlled substances: tobacco
SB 350 (Ashby) Pupil attendance: excused absences
SB 456 (Menjivar) Multifamily Housing: nonprofit corporations: homeless or at-risk youth
SB 509 (Portantino) School employee and pupil training: mental health education
AB 85 (Weber) Social determinants of health: screening and outreach

AB 665 (Carrillo) Minors: consent to mental health services
AB 874 (Weber) Health care coverage: out-of-pocket expenses
AB 1241 (Weber) Medi-Cal: telehealth
AB 1437 (Irwin) Medi-Cal: serious mental illness
AB 1451 (Jackson) Behavioral health crisis treatment
AB 1502 (Schiavo) Health care coverage: discrimination
SB 11 (Menjivar) California State University: mental health counseling
SB 45 (Roth) California Acute Care Psychiatric Hospital Loan Fund
SB 70 (Wiener) Prescription drug coverage
SB 238 (Wiener) Health care coverage: independent medical review
SB 513 (Wiener) Incarcerated persons: mental health

You may view a list of CSAP's tracked legislation, including hearing information, 
here. The GAC will meet next on Monday, March 27. 

 


CSAP to Brief Members of the Senate Mental Health Caucus

CSAP has been invited to discuss 2023's most pressing mental health and psychiatric issues with the Senate Mental Health Caucus (Senators Wiener, Eggman, et al). This is scheduled for Wednesday, March 22. Tune in next week for a download.
 


Parity

The Committee on Psychotherapy for the Group for the Advancement of Psychiatry (GAP), has sent a letter to Department of Managed Health Care Director Mary Watanabe voicing concerns with SB 855. Specifically, DMHC allowing health plans to force terminations of established therapeutic relationships solely for the health plan’s economic benefit, and that these actions are neither consistent with generally accepted standards of care nor lawful under SB 855. You may view the full letter here
 


Solano / Sacramento County Update 

Sacramento and Solano Counties met again with the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to stress what it will take to properly transition patients from Kaiser to county care and discuss legal, fiscal, and logistical concerns more broadly. In response, DHCS has decided to work with Kaiser to maintain these patients in Kaiser’s care for the upcoming coverage period (until 2024) and informed the counties that the state is assessing whether Sacramento and Solano County actions "constitute a failure, or risk of failure, to perform MHP functions that require sanctions and/or other additional state action."

We continue to track this issue for you as it is incredibly unfortunate for the two counties, the seriously mentally ill individuals who live there, and the public mental health system statewide. See more here: 
Two counties square off with California over mental health duties.
 


Homelessness and Housing

As part of his State of the State tour, Governor Newsom joined state and local leaders, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, advocates and other partners to announce the release of $1 billion in Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) Round 4 funding to support communities across the state stepping up their work to reduce homelessness. You may read the full press release here, and SYASL staff notes from the event here
 


CMA

CMA Data Exchange Explainer Series #2 - Data Exchange Policy and Legal Environment

Starting January 31, 2023, the California Health and Human Services Agency (CHHS) is launching the CHHS Data Exchange Framework. Over the next three years, this Framework will require all physician practices in this state to exchange data with other practices, health plans, hospitals, and others. To help physicians prepare for this change, CMA has partnered with CHHS to develop the “CMA Data Exchange Explainer Series.” This series of webinars will walk practices through the various considerations in implementing robust data exchange. This is the second webinar in the series. Register here
 

Data Exchange Explainer Series:  

Fed / APA Update 

Prior Authorization

Fixing prior authorization is a critical component of the American Medical Association (AMA) Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians and AMA invites you to join the fight! Due to AMA’s advocacy, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services is proposing positive prior authorization reforms for Medicare Advantage. AMA knows Medicare Advantage plans aren’t the only problem, and is fighting alongside states to fight prior authorization being out of control in commercial plans as well. Join the fight here

 


CYBHI

This week, the Senate Committee on Health held an informational hearing: An Update on the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative and the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program. You may view hearing materials and SYASL staff notes from the below.   

State Updates

DHCS Awards $60 Million to Counties and Local Groups for Medi-Cal Health Enrollment Navigators Project

Earlier this month, the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) announced the award of $59.8 million to 23 county agencies and 12 community-based organizations, covering 44 total counties, to serve as Medi-Cal Health Enrollment Navigators through June 30, 2025. Read more here


Grant Opportunities and Opportunities for Public Comment 

For SYASL's latest compilation of draft behavioral health regulations and grant opportunities, see here
 


Worth a Read
CSAP is a cooperative effort between the Central California Psychiatric Society, the Northern California Psychiatric Society, the Orange County Psychiatric Society, the San Diego Psychiatric Society, and the Southern California Psychiatric Society.

Copyright © 2023 California State Association of Psychiatrists, All rights reserved.

Our mailing address is:
1415 L Street, Suite 1000
c/o SYASL
Sacramento, CA 95814

Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.
Twitter