News in brief - March 7, 2011

HHS offers $3.7 billion for Medicaid long-term-care alternatives

The Dept. of Health and Human Services announced billions of dollars in new funding to states to provide alternatives to long-term care for Medicaid patients.

The department proposed a 6% increase in federal matching funds for community-based attendant services in Medicaid.

States could receive as much as $3.7 billion for these services, but they would need to develop specific plans allowing individuals receiving the community care to remain independent. The terms for the program were posted in an HHS proposed rule on Feb. 22.

"There is more evidence than ever that people who need long-term care prefer to live in their own homes and communities whenever possible," said Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Donald M. Berwick, MD. "The federal funding will make a difference in people's lives."

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Senate bill would end Medicare cap on psychiatric hospital services

Sens. John Kerry (D, Mass.) and Olympia Snowe (R, Maine) have introduced legislation to remove the lifetime cap on inpatient psychiatric hospital stays under Medicare.

The senators called the cap arbitrary. Ending it would be a step toward eliminating the unfair distinction between physical and mental disorders, Snowe said.

"After all the battles we've fought to equalize mental health care in this country, enforcing an outdated policy makes zero sense," Kerry said.

If adopted, the Medicare Mental Health Inpatient Equity Act would end the 190-day limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital stays starting Jan. 1, 2012.

The print version of this content appeared in the March 14 issue of American Medical News.

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