For over 30 years, the Association for Behavioral Healthcare (ABH) has been the leading advocacy organization in Massachusetts' mental health and addiction treatment arena. Fighting for high-quality, community-based care for families and individuals with mental illness, addiction and substance-use disorders, ABH provides leadership and statewide coordination on important public policy, financing, preferred clinical models and quality assurance issues.
- Karin Jeffers, President/CEO of Clinical and Support Options, is elected Chair of the ABH Board of Directors.
- ABH embarked on a series of meetings with newspaper editorial boards across the state, including The Boston Globe, to highlight and call attention to the ongoing deterioration of the outpatient behavioral health system. ABH also published three promotional videos on the importance of behavioral health outpatient care in the continuum of mental health and addiction treatment services.
- ABH worked to shape the ongoing MassHealth redesign and 1115 waiver application. ABH and our members participated on eight workgroups established by MassHealth as it developed its Medicaid 1115 waiver extension submission.
- ABH continued to work with the Providers' Council and the Childrens' League of Massachusetts on Caring Together implementation. These efforts resulted in the discontinuation of the "skinny" rate for providers of continuum services. In addition, the Commonwealth agreed to exempt STARR providers from requirements to comply with the state's Medication Administration Program (MAP).
- ABH established a new committee for members titled: Partnering with Underserved Populations. Through discussion of best practices and challenges, the Committee's goal is to equalize service delivery for all local populations marginalized in the health care system.
- Following provider rate appeals, Governor Baker's administration promulgated new Clubhouse rates retroactive to January 1, 2016. For most clubhouses, this represented a 24% increase. The new rates were announced as part of a settlement of rate appeals filed in accordance with Chapter 257.
- A Suffolk Superior Court judge ruled that the Commonwealth had failed to meet its legal obligations under Chapter 257. That decision and the ensuing settlement negotiations with the Baker Administration established that providers had been unfairly victimized by the Commonwealth's failure to fully implement Chapter 257. The resulting settlement also established that regular two-year rate reviews are an essential component of the law.
- In recognition of its efforts, ABH received the National Council for Behavioral Health's Advocacy Leadership Award for its work relative to Chapter 258.
- ABH lobbied MassHealth to review and adjust Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI) reimbursement rates for non-Community Service Agency (CSA) services, which had not been adjusted since they were initially set in 2009. MassHealth announced that rate increases for all non-CSA services would be effective on July 1, 2015. All non-CSA services received an increase of approximately 8.7% (retroactive to July 1) and received a second smaller increase of approximately 1.1% on January 1, 2016.
- ABH provided support to our members around a number of new state regulations, most prominently Workplace Safety regulations governing EOHHS providers and Earned Sick Time regulations promulgated by the Attorney General's office.
- ABH convened an ICD-10/DSM5 Subcommittee to identify issues around this transition and to help ensure our members were ready to implement October 1, 2015.
- ABH had 2,648 direct encounters with staff from ABH member organizations. ABH staff visits to member organizations increased by over 20% from FY14 and 99% percent of ABH members organizations had face-to-face contact with ABH staff.
- The FY16 budget passed by the legislature included funding to maintain all existing services offered by ABH members as well as money for expansion of community-based services funded by the Department of Mental Health (DMH) and the Department of Public Health/Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (DPH/BSAS). Additionally, ABH was able to secure $1.5 million in funding for rate increases through MBHP.
- Daniel Mumbauer, President/CEO of High Point Treatment Center, is elected Chair of the ABH Board of Directors.
- ABH secured passage of legislation to require MassHealth Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) pay a floor rate for all Evaluation and Management (E&M) codes in outpatient settings
- ABH promoted the adoption of language in the Fiscal Year 2015 budget to force MassHealth to collect and make public the financial terms of contracts between the MassHealth MCOs and companies whom they hire to manage behavioral health benefits
- ABH secured $10 million in increased funding for the Department of Mental Health (DMH) to create new community placements for individuals "stuck" in DMH continuing care facilities, $15 million in new funding to expand community-based addiction treatment services funded by the Department of Public Health/Bureau of Substance Abuse Services (DPH/BSAS), and $8 million in funding for increased MassHealth behavioral health reimbursement rates.
- ABH secured passage of landmark legislation mandating that MassHealth and commercial insurers cover both ATS (detox) and CSS (detox step-down) services, Chapter 258 of the Acts of 2014.
- For the third consecutive year Governor Patrick and the Legislature included funding in the state budget for Chapter 257 rate increases. Unfortunately, the Commonwealth's failure to fully implement Chapter 257 forced ABH and our colleagues in The Collaborative (the Association for Behavioral Healthcare, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers and the Massachusetts Council of Human Services Providers (Providers' Council)) and the Children's League of Massachusetts to file suit against the Secretary of the Executive Office of Health and Human Services after the state repeatedly failed to implement Chapter 257.
- ABH focused extensively on a number of ongoing procurements including the DMH/DCF Caring Together procurement, the expected redesign and reprocurement of the BSAS residential recovery home system and the potential reprocurement of DMH Community Based Flexible Support services.
- ABH staff continued to play leadership roles in both the National Council and SAAS, including the recently approved merger of those two organizations.
- For the second consecutive year Governor Patrick and the legislature included funding in the state budget for Chapter 257 rate increases which was a major victory for ABH and The Collaborative (ABH, the Association of Developmental Disabilities Providers, and the Providers' Council). Additionally, a number of services such as Transitional Support Services (TSS) received biennial rate increases in accordance with Chapter 257 for the first time.
- ABH members continued to exercise their legal rights under Chapter 257 through ongoing rate appeals for acute treatment services (ATS) and clubhouse services.
- ABH successfully advocated for increased reimbursement rates for Children's Behavioral Health Initiative (CBHI) Intensive Care Coordination (ICC) services. At the end of the fiscal year, the Commonwealth proposed new rates for ICC that resulted in a 20% increase for BA level services and a 24% increase in Master's-level services when implemented.
- ABH maintained its heavy focus on shoring up outpatient behavioral health services and pressed MassHealth to distribute $4 million contained in the FY13 state budget for outpatient services in a manner that benefitted as many outpatient providers as possible.
- ABH worked with a number of our members on the Outpatient Access Redesign (OAR) project to increase client access and administrative efficiencies for participating members. Funding for this project was provided in part by a $100,000 grant ABH received from MBHP to cover 50% of the consultant costs for each organization.
- ABH focused extensively on a number of ongoing system redesigns including the DMH/DCF Caring Together system, DMH Clubhouses and BSAS residential recovery system.
- ABH staff represented the interests of its member organizations on a number of important task forces and special committees, including: Chapter 224 Behavioral Health Task Force, Health Policy Commission Advisory Council, Medicaid Model Advisory Committee, Department of Public Health State Health Improvement Plan Advisory Council, and Mental Health Advisory Committee.
- Jackie Moore, President/CEO of North Suffolk Mental Health, is elected Chair of the ABH Board of Directors.
- ABH secures increased funding for BSAS, DMH, and MassHealth.
- ABH works closely with the Massachusett's League of Community Health Centers to lobby state agencies to address regulatory and billing barriers to the integration of primary and behavioral healthcare.
- Chapter 224 of the Acts of 2012, An Act Improving the Quality of Health Care and Reducing Costs Through Increased Transparency, Efficiency and Innovation was signed into law by the Governor. ABH devoted considerable resources to ensuring that any payment reform bill acknowledge the unique challenges of serving individuals with mental health and addiction disorders.
- ABH successfully advocates for increased reimbursement rates for Children's Behavioral Health Initiative Family Partners and Acute Treatment Services providers.
- The ABH Board of Directors votes to replace the word substance abuse with addiction in ABH's lexicon.
- The Collaborative (ABH, The Association of Developmental Disability Providers and the Providers' Council) reach an agreement with the Commonwealth to extend the timetable for implementation of Chapter 257 of the Acts of 2008 (see 2008 above) in exchange for placing a hold on procurements until rates are set.
- Following years of advocacy by ABH, MassHealth implements changes to its mental health clinic regulations. These changes modernize the regulation of mental health clinics and align the regulations with the Department of Public Health's.
- ABH receives the 2010 Award of Excellence for Grassroots Advocacy from The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare for its work leading the Campaign for Addiction, Prevention, Treatment and Recovery and the coalition's successful effort to repeal the sales tax exemption on alcohol.
- Kevin Norton, President/CEO of CAB Health and Recovery Services, is elected Chair of the ABH Board of Directors.
- Massachusetts celebrates the 10-year anniversary of the state's Mental Health Parity Law.
- The Massachusetts Standardized Documentation Project (MSDP) certifies its first electronic health record vendor.
- The alcohol tax is repealed following a ballot campaign in which The Committee Against Repeal of the Alcohol Tax was outspent 13:1 by the liquor industry. Despite this defeat, the Legislature and Administration pledge to maintain funding for addiction services.
- Vic DiGravio, MHSACM's President and CEO, and Maryanne Frangules, Executive Director of the Massachusetts Organization for Addiction Recovery, co-chaired the Campaign for Addiction, Prevention, Treatment, and
- Recovery which successfully eliminates the sales tax exemption on alcohol purchased in stores.
- MHSACM plays a leading role in United We Stand for Public Health, a coalition of 85 organizations dedicated to opposing budget cuts to public health programs.
- MHSACM becomes the Association for Behavioral Healthcare (ABH).
- MHSACM and its partners in The Collaborative form The Campaign the Strengthen Human Services and successfully advocate for the passage of S. 65, An Act Relative to Rates for Human and Social Service Providers (Chapter 257 of the Acts of 2008).
- The state's mental health parity law is expanded to include coverage for substance use disorders and An Act Relative to Children's Mental Health is passed by the Legislature and signed into law.
- Congress passes federal mental health parity legislation.
- Deborah Ekstrom, President/CEO of Community Healthlink, is elected Chair of the MHSACM Board of Directors.
- Elizabeth Funk, MHSACM's President and CEO, retires.
- Vicker V. DiGravio III, MHSACM's Executive Vice President, is named President and CEO.
- MHSACM convenes the Massachusetts Standardized Documentation Project to move beyond historic documentation models that recorded only the minimum level of information to one that supports a person-centered/recovery-oriented service delivery model in community settings.
- U.S. District Court Judge Michael Ponsor rules in Rosie D. v. Romney that the Commonwealth is in violation of federal Medicaid law for its failure to provide behavioral health services to 15,000 children with serious emotional disturbance.
- MHSACM successfully advocates for the inclusion of mental health and substance abuse coverage in the state's landmark health care reform law. The law also requires the restoration of post-detox step-down services.
- MHSACM successfully advocates for the restoration of $40 million in 9C cuts to behavioral healthcare services
- The Massachusetts Legislature creates the Joint Committee on Mental Health and Substance Abuse, signifying its understanding of the importance of behavioral healthcare.
- MHSACM and the Massachusetts League of Community Health Centers form a strategic alliance to improve the coordination of behavioral health and primary care services. Six demonstration projects are identified to develop and maximize the ability of partnering community mental health centers and community health centers to coordinate behavioral and primary healthcare and identify and remove barriers to collaboration.
- MHSACM joins forces with consumer, family, provider and other advocacy organizations in a campaign to educate our elected officials about the importance of protecting Massachusetts' unique behavioral healthcare system after learning that the Romney Administration planned to move 20,000 people out of their current specialty behavioral healthcare program into health plans not designed or equipped to serve them. The Postcards for People initiative educated lawmakers and the Governor about the critical importance of the Medicaid behavioral health carve-out, the statewide care system that serves the mental health and substance abuse needs of 300,000 children, adolescents and adults.
- MHSACM members participate in the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare's first annual Capitol Hill Day.
- Ellen Attaliades, CEO of The Edinburg Center, is elected Chair of the MHSACM Board of Directors.
- MHSACM launches its e-Update.
- The House and Senate override a gubernatorial veto of budget language requiring the state to adjust its contracts with providers to pay for any significant, new mandates it imposes, and also provides new procedural protections for providers.
- The Massachusetts Behavioral Health Partnership begins implementing an outcomes measurement requirement for all network providers. MHSACM successfully advocates for a provider subsidy to help defray costs.
- Following deep budget cuts to substance abuse services, MHSACM successfully organizes the Massachusetts Coalition for Addiction Services (MCAS), a group of advocacy organizations formed to speak with one voice for the restoration and expansion of funding.
- MHSACM and its Transitional Support Services (TSS) Committee works with the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services to revise the TSS staffing standards and to increase the rate per unit of service.
- Paul O'Shea, President and CEO of Health and Education Services, Inc., is elected Chair of the MHSACM Board of Directors.
- MHSACM achieves rate increases for substance abuse day treatment, driver alcohol education, substance abuse outpatient and methadone dosing services.
- MHSACM researches and develops a compendium of studies called The Cost and Benefits of Substance Abuse Parity.
- MHSACM successfully preserves funding for methadone services and prevents the inclusion of budget language that would have barred the Department of Public Health from contracting with providers who offer methadone services or services to out-of-state residents.
- MHSACM and partner organizations hold rallies to preserve mental health and substance abuse funding and seek additional revenue to save services.
- Jonathan Scott, President of Victory Programs, Inc., is elected Chair of the MHSACM Board of Directors.
- MHSACM, the Association of Developmental Disabilities (ADDP) and the Massachusetts Council of Human Service Providers join together to create the Purchase of Service (POS) Reform Provider Advocacy Campaign to seek fair and adequate rates for human and social services.
- The Department of Mental Health implements redesigned Community Rehabilitation and Support Services programming across the Commonwealth.
- MHSACM achieves rate increases for psychiatric day treatment, substance abuse residential, acute treatment services (ATS/detox), mental health outpatient, and psychological testing services.
- The state passes the Massachusetts Mental Health Parity Law.
- MHSACM holds its first annual Provider Celebration.
- Mental Health and Substance Abuse Corporations of Massachusetts, Inc (MHSACM) is created through the merger of the Alcoholism and Drug Abuse Association and Mental Health Corporations of Massachusetts.
- Elizabeth Funk is named President/CEO of MHSACM.
- Phil Shea, President/CEO of Community Counseling of Bristol County, is elected Chair of the MHSACM Board of Directors.
