{"id":36324,"date":"2023-01-17T13:25:43","date_gmt":"2023-01-17T13:25:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/?p=36324"},"modified":"2023-01-17T13:25:43","modified_gmt":"2023-01-17T13:25:43","slug":"maryland-lawmakers-seek-to-remake-the-states-health-delivery-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/2023\/01\/17\/maryland-lawmakers-seek-to-remake-the-states-health-delivery-system\/","title":{"rendered":"Maryland lawmakers seek to remake the state\u2019s health delivery system"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> [ad_1]<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"wpds-c-grBDNq hide-for-print mb-sm undefined\">\n<div class=\"PJLV PJLV-iAjpuP-css flex items-center\" config=\"[object Object]\" data-qa=\"article-actions\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-fLphcs\">\n<div class=\"wpds-c-jmLDag wpds-c-jmLDag-bywHgD-variant-primary wpds-c-jmLDag-biynoz-density-compact wpds-c-jmLDag-hZSyid-isOutline-true wpds-c-jmLDag-ejCoEP-icon-left wpds-c-jmLDag-futxca-cv wpds-c-jmLDag-iknmtxO-css\"><button aria-label=\"Comment\" class=\"PJLV PJLV-iPnDcc-css\"><svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewbox=\"0 0 16 16\" fill=\"currentColor\" aria-hidden=\"true\" focusable=\"false\" role=\"img\" class=\"wpds-c-kKAfCG wpds-c-efqEZa focus-highlight flex items-center justify-center brad-lg pointer transition-400 ease-in-out transition-colors\" aria-label=\"Comment on this story\"><title>Comment on this story<\/title><path d=\"M14 14V2H2v9.47h8.18L12.43 13ZM3 10.52V3h10v9.23l-2.5-1.66Z\"\/><\/svg><\/button><\/p>\n<p>Comment<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"teaser-content grid-center\">\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Lawmakers <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2023\/01\/11\/maryland-lawmakers-convene-session\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_2\" rel=\"noopener\">returned to Annapolis<\/a> last week determined to scrutinize Maryland\u2019s health systems for solutions to structural issues the pandemic highlighted and exacerbated for the state\u2019s most vulnerable residents.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Leaders in the House and Senate are crafting two comprehensive bills addressing the state\u2019s public health and behavioral health systems with study commissions and proposals, including federally qualified clinics for mental illness and substance abuse treatment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">They will work with incoming <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/gov-elect-moore-announces-cabinet-posts\/2023\/01\/12\/8af417fe-92b6-11ed-90f8-53661ac5d9b9_story.html?itid=lk_inline_manual_5\" rel=\"noopener\">health secretary<\/a> Laura Herrera Scott, a physician and deputy health secretary under former governor Martin O\u2019Malley, who inherits an agency with widespread vacancies and a workforce exhausted after three years on the front lines of the pandemic.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The state\u2019s hospitals were at or near full capacity due to staffing shortages as the legislative session opened Wednesday, with patients presenting sicker than pre-pandemic levels and people suffering from mental health crises boarding in emergency departments awaiting beds, according to the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/mhaonline.org\/docs\/default-source\/publications\/press-releases\/press-release-january-2023-maryland-hospitals-near-capacity_the-maryland-hospital-association-hospitals-ask-for-the-publics-support.pdf?utm_source=MarketingCloud&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=MHA+Toward+Better+Health+Newsletter+-+January+8%2c+2023&amp;utm_content=https%3a%2f%2fmhaonline.org%2fdocs%2fdefault-source%2fpublications%2fpress-releases%2fpress-release-january-2023-maryland-hospitals-near-capacity_the-maryland-hospital-association-hospitals-ask-for-the-publics-support.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">Maryland Hospital Association<\/a>. In the first year of the pandemic, the state had the worst average <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beckershospitalreview.com\/rankings-and-ratings\/er-wait-times-by-state.html\" rel=\"noopener\">ED wait times<\/a> in the nation, data from the Centers for Medicare &amp; Medicaid Services shows.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\"><a target=\"_blank\" data-qa=\"interstitial-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2023\/01\/11\/maryland-general-assembly-session-key-issues\/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_8\" rel=\"noopener\">Md. Democrats are set to rule Annapolis. Here\u2019s what you need to know.<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">While lawmakers made piecemeal changes \u2014 expanding testing and vaccine access and requiring implicit bias training for health-care workers \u2014 throughout the pandemic, officials say the mounting challenges magnified by the coronavirus demand a comprehensive response.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">They want to restore staffing levels to full capacity, fully fund programs proved to help patients and build community services to keep people out of hospitals and the criminal justice system. The bills, which could be introduced in the next week or two, call for a four-year behavioral health study and specific proposals as well as a two-year public health study, lawmakers said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Joseline A. Pe\u00f1a-Melnyk (D-Prince George\u2019s), chair of the House Health and Government Operations Committee, said the legislation will address structures but also social determinants of health, including financial instability, unreliable transportation, no access to education, and inadequate housing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Research shows in addition to conditions in which people are born, grow, live, work and age, <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2022\/06\/15\/racial-disparities-health-care-youngkin\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_14\" rel=\"noopener\">public health officials<\/a> should consider the role that structural inequities, such as racism, classism and gender oppression play in health outcomes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Del. Ariana B. Kelly (D-Montgomery) is spearheading the public health bill, which would create a commission to examine the state\u2019s response to the pandemic and overdose deaths as well as racial and ethnic disparities in maternal mortality and birth outcomes.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The cost will be calculated when the bills are introduced. Lawmakers say the investment will be significant. They aim to draw on the state\u2019s $2.5 billion surplus and $3 billion \u201crainy day\u201d savings account, although Moore has <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2023\/01\/11\/maryland-lawmakers-convene-session\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_18\" rel=\"noopener\">cautioned <\/a>that the state cannot afford the more than $2 billion in requests already made to the state government.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\"><a target=\"_blank\" data-qa=\"interstitial-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2022\/12\/12\/latino-hispanic-diabetes-diet-exercise\/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_19\" rel=\"noopener\">Covid connections paved way for diabetes education in Latino Maryland<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cYou either pay now or you pay later and how do you pay? You pay when people commit suicide, when families are not functioning, someone is miserable,\u201d Pe\u00f1a-Melnyk said in an interview.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The pandemic highlighted and exacerbated the <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/health\/2020\/05\/26\/americans-with-depression-anxiety-pandemic\/?itid=lk_inline_manual_21\" rel=\"noopener\">mental health crisis<\/a>, leaving many without the resources to seek help even if the state had enough providers.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIf we don\u2019t do it now, are we ever going to do it?\u201d said Del. David Moon (D-Montgomery), who will shepherd the behavioral health bill in the house. \u201cThe need right now is so great and with the funds there at the moment it would be a real shame if we don\u2019t put a down payment on part of this build out.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">In Maryland, 781,000 adults \u2014 or 19 times the population of Annapolis \u2014 have a mental health condition, according to <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nami.org\/NAMI\/media\/NAMI-Media\/StateFactSheets\/MarylandStateFactSheet.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">data compiled by <\/a>the state chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Almost 40 percent of Maryland adults reported symptoms of anxiety or depression, in February 2021 one year into the pandemic and about a third were unable to access counseling or therapy, NAMI says.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Behavioral health patients account for about one quarter of emergency room admission, but 70 percent of days spent by patients occupying emergency room beds as they wait treatment elsewhere, according to an analysis by the Maryland Institute for Emergency Medical Services Systems.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Moon said after eight years of trying to reform criminal justice from his place on the judiciary committee, it\u2019s time to turn to the behavioral health system in hopes of keeping people out of court and jail.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The bill would create a commission to figure out where the system is failing patients, create a behavioral health and drug treatment system in all counties for people seeking help and how to train more providers, Moon said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cThat sounds simple but it\u2019s remarkable how far we are from it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Mental health advocates are pressing lawmakers to beef up community services through Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, federal and state funded clinics that provide outpatient mental health and substance abuse disorder treatment, case management and primary health screening.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Lori Doyle, director of public policy for the Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland, said the goal is to get people outpatient therapy and services before their condition deteriorates to the point where they end up in a hospital emergency room or jail. Without accessible treatment, patients must rely on inadequate and expensive inpatient psychiatric hospitals, which were set up for long-term care \u2014 not a rotating load of patients who, once stabilized, do well with outpatient treatment.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cIf you had diabetes, we wouldn\u2019t say the best way to manage your diabetes is to go to the emergency department,\u201d she said. \u201cThat\u2019s never the approach we would advocate or think is good except for behavioral health.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The Hogan administration last year missed a deadline for Maryland to pilot CCBHCs, despite a <a target=\"_blank\" href=\"https:\/\/raskin.house.gov\/_cache\/files\/f\/c\/fc79dd19-3862-4f05-a580-f42458c0d845\/083A1C542E65B251DD800C81D7583C5B.rep.-raskin-letter-to-sec.-schrader-re-ccbhc-planning-grant-12.1.22.pdf\" rel=\"noopener\">letter <\/a>from most of the state\u2019s congressional delegation.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">Many states have had success with Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics, Doyle said. In New York, monthly behavioral health emergency department costs dropped 26 percent; inpatient hospitalizations among adult clients Oklahoma psychiatric hospitals dropped 93 percent and in Missouri emergency department visits fell by 36 percent after three years, according to data compiled by the nonprofit National Council for Mental Wellbeing.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">As it stands, most behavioral health clinics lose money because the reimbursement rate doesn\u2019t cover the cost of services, making it difficult for even people with private insurance to locate services.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p><span class=\"font--article-body font-copy hide-for-print ma-0 pb-md db italic interstitial\"><a target=\"_blank\" data-qa=\"interstitial-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/dc-md-va\/2023\/01\/14\/maryland-governor-moore-frederick-douglass\/?itid=lk_interstitial_manual_43\" rel=\"noopener\">Maryland\u2019s governor to take oath on Frederick Douglass\u2019s Bible<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">That\u2019s the case for Cornerstone Montgomery, a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic that sees 3,000 clients annually in Montgomery County and is preparing to add 500 more across St. Mary\u2019s, Calvert and Charles counties, said CEO Cari Guthrie.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">The center has access to some federal grant money as a result of the clinic designation and saw hospitalizations among its patients decline as services expanded, Guthrie said \u2014 down 59 percent in 2021 from a comparable three-month period in 2018.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-body\" data-qa=\"article-body\">\n<p data-qa=\"drop-cap-letter\" data-el=\"text\" class=\"wpds-c-cYdRxM wpds-c-cYdRxM-iPJLV-css font-copy\">\u201cThe results speak for themselves across the country,\u201d she said, of the model lawmakers are considering.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<section class=\"dn-ns hide-for-print\" data-testid=\"mostRead\" subscriptions-section=\"content\"\/><\/div>\n<p>[ad_2]<br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/news.google.com\/__i\/rss\/rd\/articles\/CBMiXGh0dHBzOi8vd3d3Lndhc2hpbmd0b25wb3N0LmNvbS9kYy1tZC12YS8yMDIzLzAxLzE3L21vb3JlLW1lbnRhbC1oZWFsdGgtbWFyeWxhbmQtbGVnaXNsYXR1cmUv0gEA?oc=5\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>[ad_1] Comment on this story Comment Lawmakers returned to Annapolis last week determined to scrutinize&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36325,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-research"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36324","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=36324"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36324\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":36326,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/36324\/revisions\/36326"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/36325"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=36324"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=36324"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cjstudents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=36324"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}