As many of you probably know the Milliman recommendations on Medicaid rates were provided to the Office of Health Insurance Commissioner Cory King. Those recommendations for the Medicaid rates were then sent to EOHHS to become part of EOHHS’s recommendation to the Governor’s office for inclusion in the Governor’s proposed budget to our legislators. Those recommendations made it through all steps to be included in the Governor’s proposed budget with no changes. I believe that recommendations for most behavioral healthcare providers were in the area of 20% plus. For those modalities that have not received an increase in 15 to 20 years, in particular the opioid treatment programs, the recommended increase was 62.4%. It certainly gives an indication to those of you who are not familiar with the situation of how frankly just remarkable it is that opioid treatment programming was so undercompensated and overused during these years of epidemic utilization of opioids resulting in overdose. We now have the opportunity to testify, to email, to otherwise write to discuss with the legislators for whom you are a constituent, the importance of this recommendation in the Governor’s budget. Please, please take as many opportunities as you can to share how important it is for the recommendations to remain intact. And for these recommended increases to be implemented during year 1, not over 2 years or 3 years.
In addition, we now have 2 bills, one in the Senate and one in the House that would support the establishment of a rate floor for all services compensated by Medicaid. This is increasingly important as we are looking at the increases as explained above. I know for Codac only 12% of those patients who are Medicaid eligible are managed by Medicaid. 88% are managed by other managed care organizations. Here in Rhode Island that is Neighborhood Health Care, United and Tufts – 2 of which are administered through Optum. Even though the increase in Medicaid rates recommended in the Governor’s budget is wonderful it will not have the impact that is not only desired but absolutely needed if those rates cannot be shared as compensation from the managed care organizations.
Senator Jake Bissaillon sponsored the S2726 bill in the Senate and Deputy Speaker Ray Hull has sponsored the H8056 bill in the House. Our request of you is: 1) to testify over these next couple of weeks for the adoption of the rate increases in Medicaid and for that adoption to be within year one not year 2 not year three. 2) To testify for all behavioral health and for those of you who are OTARI members or opioid treatment providers, to strongly testify as a few of us have done, and need to continue through the end of June bringing members of the community who are stakeholders speaking from your own heart and your own experiences to testify relative to the adoption of legislation. 3) To share with staff the importance of this and for all of us to encourage ourselves, our family and friends, and our staff members again to reach out to the state representatives voting on these bills as their constituents over the next couple of weeks. Director Tassoni has committed to providing us with notice when we can either intercede, be present or increase pressure through communication email letters texts and discussions, when these 2 bills are coming up for vote.
Please contact me with any questions at all.
Thanks so much,
Linda Hurley
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