[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 99 (Tuesday, May 21, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25499-25500]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-12649]
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DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES
Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Programmatic Supplement to the Cooperative Agreement With the
National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors
AGENCY: Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS), Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), HHS.
ACTION: Planned single-source supplemental award to assist State mental
health, substance abuse, and Medicaid officials to develop pragmatic
performance measures and outcome indicators for use in Medicaid managed
behavioral health care contracting.
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SUMMARY: This notice is to provide information to the public concerning
a planned programmatic supplement to an ongoing cooperative agreement
between the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration's
(SAMHSA) Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) and the National
Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD). The
ongoing cooperative agreement funds the Technical Assistance Center for
State Mental Health Planning. The programmatic supplement is being
provided to address a need that arose from the recommendations of the
SAMHSA Conference--Partnerships for Change. The conference highlighted
national and State trends in organizing and financing public mental
health and substance abuse care. Federal and State officials received
strong encouragement to expand their collaboration across levels of
government and between mental health, substance abuse, and Medicaid
agencies to prepare for rapid changes in their roles, responsibilities,
and funding. A particularly acute need identified was a core set of
quality assurance and performance measures that public purchasers of
managed behavioral health care services could use to monitor the new
contracting mechanism. In the absence of a core set of measures, it is
possible that persons with severe and persistent mental illnesses,
chronic substance abuse disorders, and children and adolescents with
serious emotional problems may be placed into managed care systems with
inadequate safeguards and controls. In fact, the network of community-
based services that has been developed with great difficulty over the
last three decades may be jeopardized if public sector managed care
contracts lack essential performance standards and quality assurance
guidelines.
The NASMHPD Board of Directors, in close collaboration with the
NASMHPD Research Institute, and the Boards of Directors of the National
Association of State Alcohol and Drug Abuse Directors (NASADAD) and the
American Public Welfare Association (APWA), have all identified as
their top mutual priority the development of performance measurement
indicators that could be used by States that are letting contracts for
Medicaid managed behavioral health care. NASMHPD, which represents the
State mental health agencies in every State, has a long history of
facilitating the voluntary collection of uniform mental health data
across States. NASMHPD has worked with State mental health agencies and
CMHS on the Mental Health Statistics Improvement Program (MHSIP) to
foster the collection, analysis, and reporting of data which are useful
for systems management, policy decisions, evaluation, performance
assessment, and research in the States, as well as nationally. State
health care reform efforts and the introduction of managed care
financial arrangements have placed new demands on States for quality
assurance and accountability information. NASMHPD's Technical
Assistance Center cooperative agreement with CMHS represents a unique
capacity that does not exist anywhere else. The NASMHPD Technical
Assistance Center works closely with every State mental health agency.
A supplement to the existing cooperative agreement will allow the
NASMHPD Technical Assistance Center to develop a consensus among State
mental health, substance abuse, and Medicaid agencies around the
collection of information about managed care that can be used
internally by States for quality assurance and contract monitoring
purposes, while, at the same time, assuring cooperation across States
so that data items and data collection procedures are uniform so that
valid national and cross-state comparisons can be made. Therefore,
SAMHSA's CMHS has determined that a supplement to the existing
cooperative agreement with NASMHPD should be made to carry out this
important work.
This notice is not a request for applications; only NASMHPD is
eligible to apply for the supplement to the existing cooperative
agreement. If the NASMHPD supplemental application is recommended for
approval by the Special Review Committee, funds will be made available.
Authority: The programmatic supplement to the ongoing
cooperative agreement will be made under the authority of Section
1948(a)
[[Page 25500]]
of the Public Health Service Act, as amended (42 USC 300x-58).
AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS: The programmatic supplement will be for a 6-
month period with up to $80,000 total costs (direct and indirect costs)
available for that period.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Richard J. Bast, CMHS Division of
State and Community Development Systems, Room 15C-26 Parklawn Building
(301-443-4257) or Eric Goplerud, SAMHSA Managed Care Initiative, Room
12C-10 Parklawn Building (301-443-4456). The mailing address is: 5600
Fishers Lane, Rockville, Maryland 20857.
Dated: May 14, 1996.
Richard Kopanda,
Acting Executive Officer, SAMHSA.
[FR Doc. 96-12649 Filed 5-20-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4162-20-P
