February 1, 2006

OPEN MINDS CEO’s Testimony on Behavioral Health Available for Policy Analysts & Advocates

Gettysburg, Pennsylvania - In the fourth quarter of 2005, Monica E. Oss, chief executive officer and founder of OPEN MINDS, provided testimony on behavioral health policy in the states of Pennsylvania and Iowa. A nationally respected expert on behavioral health, Ms. Oss spoke about the challenges to effective behavioral health service financing and delivery, and options for improving consumer recovery and increasing system value. OPEN MINDS is now making the testimony to both states available to policymakers and advocates interested in behavioral health spending and benefit design.

On October 21, 2005, Ms. Oss testified before the Pennsylvania Medical Assistance Panel on Behavioral Health, a session convened by Governor Edward G. Rendell to investigate efficiency and costs of Medical Assistance. Ms. Oss highlighted the increasing dependence of state mental health systems on Medicaid. As Medicaid cost-containment strategies are extended to behavioral health, costs are unintentionally shifted to other State and County services. Oss cited:

  • 20% of state and federal adult prisoners are seriously mentally ill
  • 72% have co-occurring addiction
  • 7% to 60% of children in child welfare system are placed by parents so children could receive mental health services
  • 50% to 75% of incarcerated youth have diagnosable mental health problems
  • 46% of homeless individuals report having mental health problem within previous year

The solution, Ms. Oss stated, lies in integrating funding. Payers - federal, state, and local governments - can pool funds into a common care management entity. Case management should be coordinated between Medical Assistance, county health and social service programs, and correction systems. Additional improvements to reduce total costs include disease management programs, service delivery models that facilitate consumer choice and are driven by consumers, and having all stakeholders (counties, care management organizations, provider organizations, professionals, etc.) report standardized cost data and quality/performance information.

On December 7, 2005, Ms. Oss testified at the meeting of the Iowa Medical Pharmaceutical & Therapeutic Committee on behalf of NAMI Iowa. The committee was considering a proposal to require prior authorization for antipsychotic medications. Ms. Oss testified that, while this measure would decrease the Medicaid medication line item expense, it would increase total Iowa State spending for the treatment of schizophrenia. Her testimony cited current state spending patterns for mental health, cost-offset research, and new evidence-based practice models - and closed with alternate options for decreasing total mental health spending.

Policymakers and advocates interested in behavioral health spending and benefit design can receive copies of the Pennsylvania and Iowa testimony of Ms. Oss by sending an e-mail message to openminds@openminds.com, calling toll-free at 877-350-6463, or accessing the OPEN MINDS Industry Resource library. The Pennsylvania testimony can be downloaded in PDF format at http://www.openminds.com/circlehome/indres/pamedassistpanel.htm. The Iowa testimony is available at http://www.openminds.com/circlehome/eprint/indres/020306iowamptctestimony.htm.

Based in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, OPEN MINDS is a national market research and management consulting firm for the behavioral health and social service industry. Its mission is to provide behavioral health and social service payers, consumer associations, and service providers with the management knowledge needed to improve their efficiency and effectiveness in order to better serve consumers.

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