Health
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) announced Tuesday that California will join 10 other states and the District of Columbia as participants in the Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration, established under the Affordable Care Act to test whether Medicaid beneficiaries who are experiencing a psychiatric emergency get more immediate, appropriate care when institutions for mental diseases (IMDs) receive Medicaid reimbursement.
“This new demonstration will help ensure patients receive appropriate, high-quality care when they need it most and save states money,” said CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner.
This demonstration will provide up to $75 million in federal Medicaid matching funds over three years to 11 States – Alabama, California, Connecticut, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Missouri, North Carolina, Rhode Island, Washington, and West Virginia – and the District of Columbia, to enable private psychiatric hospitals, IMDs, to receive Medicaid reimbursement for emergency care provided to Medicaid enrollees aged 21 to 64 who have an acute need for treatment.
Historically, federal law has prohibited Medicaid from paying for IMD services provided to Medicaid enrollees between the ages of 21 and 64.
As a result, when these particular Medicaid beneficiaries need emergency psychiatric treatment, they may seek services in general hospital emergency departments where services may not be matched to their needs or in psychiatric hospitals where the care is appropriate but reimbursement is not provided.
This has been detrimental to Medicaid beneficiaries, hospitals, and State Medicaid programs.
CMS Acting Administrator Marilyn Tavenner said that requiring the nearest emergency department to care for a person who is threatening to hurt himself or someone else “may not be an efficient use of health care dollars, and may be detrimental to vulnerable patients – especially when they could immediately be treated in the setting with more appropriate care.”
The Medicaid Emergency Psychiatric Demonstration will test whether Medicaid reimbursement to treat psychiatric emergencies in IMD settings will enable states to increase the quality of care for people experiencing mental illness at lower cost, and will also test whether such expanded coverage reduces the burden on general acute care hospital emergency departments.
The Demonstration will be administered by the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, which was created by the Affordable Care Act to test innovative payment and service delivery models that have the potential to reduce program expenditures while preserving or enhancing the quality of care.
The Affordable Care Act requires an evaluation of this demonstration program and a report to Congress.
Additional information can be found at www.innovations.cms.gov/initiatives/medicaid-emergency-psychiatric-demo .
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SACRAMENTO – Caltrans has launched a Web site for emergency response pilots to help them find 150 heliport-equipped hospitals across California during medical emergencies.
This service will provide a critical link between hospitals and personnel that respond either to daily or large-scale medical emergencies.
“Until now, emergency responders had no single source of information for the locations and capabilities of these heliports,” said acting Caltrans Director Malcolm Dougherty. “This new Web site provides critical information at a time when every second counts.”
The Web site is intended to aid pilots who fly Emergency Medical Services (EMS) helicopters and helps first responders by providing quick online access to state-permitted hospital heliports and the type of emergency services each hospital provides.
“It’s a great resource for any air medical organization,” said John Mitchell, Redding Reach Air Medical Services base Lead Pilot. “It reduces pilots’ stress levels by familiarizing them with different hospitals’
helipads and also gives a birds-eye view of each hospital’s location and area. I have it marked as a favorite on my browser."
The Hospital Heliport Web site was developed by Caltrans in cooperation with the EMS Authority, EMS operators, and other stakeholders.
The result is an interactive state map that shows the locations of hospital heliports.
Emergency responders can “zoom” into county or regional views and select information about a particular heliport.
Information includes geographic coordinates, trauma center level, and the heliport’s proximity to nearby cities and major roads.
The site also provides aerial photographs depicting authorized flight paths, and heliport data such as dimensions, lighting, elevation, and helicopter size and weight limits.
“Air ambulance services make it possible to transport the most severely injured and sickest patients from distant locations to medical centers that have the needed expertise,” said Dr. Howard Backer, Director of the EMS Authority. “Providing hospital landing site information online ensures that air ambulance providers have ready access to accurate information on receiving facilities’ landing sites to improve flight safety.”
The Web site address is http://www.dot.ca.gov/hq/planning/aeronaut/dataplates.html .
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