Training Institutes 2012 - National Technical Assistance Center for ...

TARGETED INSTITUTES
TARGETED INSTITUTE #4 9:30 AM SUNDAY • OSCEOLA A
Health Reform and Children’s Behavioral Health Services
OBJECTIVES—Participants will learn:
1. To explain the impacts of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on children’s behavioral health services
2. To describe the general provisions of the Act and how they are already affecting children’s behavioral health services
3. To identify the components of the new Health Insurance Exchanges and the opportunities for improving children’s
behavioral health services
4. To identify the major changes in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) and the
opportunities for improving children’s behavioral health services
5. To analyze how provisions of the ACA can support the expansion of a system of care approach to services in states
6. How to get involved in states to shape implementation of healthcare reform to better serve children with behavioral
health needs and their families
This Targeted Institute will provide individuals with a general understanding of the ACA and how specific sections of
the ACA may be used by states to improve health, mental health, and substance abuse services for children and their
families. Data will be presented on the positive impacts on families that have accrued from Act provisions already in
effect. Faculty will discuss how states can implement ACA provisions to support the expansion of the system of care
approach and provide more comprehensive behavioral health coverage to both Medicaid and non-Medicaid populations.
There has been extensive action at the state and federal levels to implement provisions of the Act, and information,
data, and resources have been made available. Many states are early innovators and families are already sharing stories
about the impact of the Act on services for their children. Faculty will synthesize this information so that participants
can better understand how to use the information to make decisions on improving behavioral health services for children
in their states.
Specific topics to be covered:
• General provisions of the ACA including coverage of young adults on their parents’ insurance plans, elimination of
pre-existing condition exclusions, coverage of preventive care, and new Maternal and Child Health Early Childhood
Home Visitation Programs
• Health Insurance Exchanges, including state design requirements and challenges, the impact on individuals and small
businesses, and implementation of “Navigator” services, as well as the imperative for administrators and families to
get involved in their state design efforts to ensure that Exchange plans offer adequate behavioral health services
• Proposed changes and opportunities through the expansions of Medicaid and SCHIP, including Health Homes,
Accountable Care Organizations, 1915(i) State Plan Amendments, Money Follows the Person, and continued
Medicaid coverage for young adults exiting foster care
• Resources available for participants to learn about what is happening in their states and how to influence decisions
that are being made
This Targeted Institute will include interactive discussions with participants to share experiences in implementing
provisions of the ACA and explore what provisions of the Act they may want to focus on back home. The faculty team
includes the perspectives of former state administrators of children’s services, both of whom are national consultants on
financing and health reform.
MODERATOR/PRESENTER: Jim Wotring, M.S.W., Director, National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s
Mental Health, Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, Washington, DC
Gary Macbeth, M.S.W., M.Ed., Senior Policy Associate, National Technical Assistance Center for Children’s Mental
Health, Georgetown University, Washington, DC
96 Training Institutes 2012