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Connection Newsletter
By AzHHA Communications ● July 11, 2024
Smart Brevity® count: 3.5 mins...940 words
This week, read about:
- AzHHA’s comments on AHCCCS covered non-Title XIX XXI behavioral health services.
- How you can make a difference by supporting the AzHHA PAC.
- Early voting being underway for the 2024 Arizona Primary Election.
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AzHHA submits comments on AHCCCS covered non-Title XIX XXI behavioral health services
On Sunday, July 7, 2024, AzHHA submitted comments to the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS) on proposed changes to the AHCCCS Medical Policy Manual (AMPM) Exhibit 300-2B on AHCCCS Covered Non-Title XIX XXI Behavioral Health Services.
Why it matters: The letter urges AHCCCS to include crisis and stabilization services provided by behavioral health hospitals to non-Title XIX XXI populations as covered services.
Under the proposed changes, services provided by subacute facilities would no longer be covered under the Mental Health Block Grant (MHBG), and services provided by residential treatment facilities would no longer be covered under MHBG and the Substance Use Block Grant.
- AzHHA also seeks clarification on whether the coverage changes are due to a shift in permitted federal uses of the funds or if they are the result of other factors or policy rationales.
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Make a difference - join the AZHHA PAC
Every day, elected officials’ decisions affect the health of Arizona’s people, patients and communities.
Why it matters: This PAC funding is essential to support candidates who align with our purpose and promote initiatives beneficial to healthcare in Arizona.
- Every dollar counts towards advancing health and healthcare in Arizona.
The big picture: The AzHHA PAC is one important tool to help us build meaningful relationships with legislators who vote on those bills.
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Early voting has started for the 2024 Arizona Primary Election
The 2024 Arizona Primary Election is on Tuesday, July 30, 2024.
- Early voting has begun! Early ballots were mailed last week.
Important dates to know for this election:
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Friday, July 19, 2024: Last day to request an early ballot
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Tuesday, July 23, 2024: Last day to mail back your ballot
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Friday, July 26, 2024: Last day to vote early in person
The big picture: All registered voters, including independents, may vote in the July 30 primary. Voters not affiliated with a party just need to request a ballot.
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The results are in: 2024 Member Survey
AzHHA recently completed its annual survey targeting CEOs of member hospitals.
Why it matters: The survey helps us understand if we are meeting the needs of our members with policy and advocacy work as well as additional services and programs.
By the numbers: Our response rate reached 40% with this year’s survey – up from 32.8% last year. Additionally, the results exceeded our goals in these areas:
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Policy and advocacy work – achieved an average rating of 84 on a scale of 1 to 100.
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Net promoter score – attained a score of 74.
Additionally, overall satisfaction with AzHHA membership reached an average rating of 90 on a scale of 1 to 100.
What’s next: Based on the feedback, we will continue to evaluate ways we can meet our member needs, particularly in the most frequently identified areas of state policy, reimbursement/health plan issues, federal policy and regulatory issues.
Thank you to everyone who participated in this survey!
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AzHHA is conducting a national search for a senior vice president (SVP) of policy and advocacy.
Why it matters: This position provides leadership and strategic direction in the development and articulation of public policy issues affecting Arizona hospitals and health systems.
- As a subject matter expert, the SVP of policy and advocacy enables AzHHA to have a positive impact on the health policy and political environment facing its members.
View the job description and apply.
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WSJ article: Commercial insurers pocketed $50 billion from Medicare
On Monday, July 8, 2024, the Wall Street Journal published an article titled “Insurers Pocketed $50 Billion From Medicare for Diseases No Doctor Treated.”
Why it matters: The article examines how some insurers managing Medicare Advantage plans manipulated the ability to add diagnoses not submitted by a patient’s doctor with some not based on actual treatments or, in some cases, contradicted the providers’ diagnosis.
From the article:
“Private insurers involved in the government’s Medicare Advantage program made hundreds of thousands of questionable diagnoses that triggered extra taxpayer-funded payments from 2018 to 2021, including outright wrong ones. In all, Medicare paid insurers about $50 billion for diagnoses added by insurers in these three years ending in 2021.”
Go deeper: Read the full article here (subscription required).
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Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 - Introduction to POLST
Join physician orders for life-sustaining treatment paradigm (POLST) for their one-hour virtual workshops equipping healthcare professionals with knowledge and resources to begin using POLST in Arizona. Register here.
Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2024 - Healthcare Social Media Exercise
Join AzCHER for a virtual exercise that aims to enhance your ability to implement social listening to gauge the public’s perception of incident response and recovery efforts, and deliver credible and actionable messages to inform the public through social media platforms in response to a catastrophic incident. Register now.
Thursday, Aug. 22, 2024 - EMTALA surveys, deficiencies and interactions with agencies
This is the final session in the members-only webinar series designed to answer questions about EMTALA, the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act. Questions? Reach out to [email protected].
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