The National
Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare (NCCBH) has issued an Action Alert
requesting contact with all United States House of Representatives offices
to oppose proposed rate cuts for Medicare partial hospitalization programs
(PHP). According to the National Council, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services (CMS) has proposed a 15 percent reduction to the partial hospitalization
program rate for calendar year 2007. The National Council urges interested
persons to contact their representatives and ask them to sign on to a letter
being circulated by Representative Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX) and addressed
to Mike Leavitt, Secretary, Department of Health and Human Services, that
urges suspension of the proposed rate cut and formation of a behavioral health
task force to establish a more effective method of calculating rate changes.
The deadline to sign on to the letter is close of business on October 5.
The proposed cut for PHP services (APC Code 0033) would result in a rate of $208.27, a reduction from $245.91 in 2006. National Council stresses that this rate reduction could impact access to needed programs and services. In Pennsylvania, access to Medicare PHPs is already limited due to Medicare certification requirements.
Access the United States House of Representatives web site (www.house.gov) to find contact information for your representative.
