50% Decline in In-Person Mental Healthcare Utilization Offset by Telehealth Services
January 10, 2023
A new study conducted by researchers from the RAND Corporation,
published in
JAMA Health Forum, has found that in 2020,
there was a more than 50% decline in in-person mental healthcare
utilization among patients, and that this decline was offset by
telehealth servi...
CMS Releases Guidance on Medicaid Option to Reduce Health-related Social Needs
January 9, 2023
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) released
guidance to clarify how states can use an existing Medicaid
managed care option to reduce health disparities and address
unmet health-related social needs. A managed care final rule that
was enacted under ...
New Report Finds NJ Pregnancy Care Efforts Have Saved Hundreds of Lives over the Past Five Years
January 5, 2023
A new report released by the New Jersey Hospital Association
(NJHA) highlights the improvements in pregnancy care in New
Jersey since 2017 when the New Jersey Perinatal Quality
Collaborative (NJPQC) was launched to improve maternal health
outcomes in the state. The NJP...
DMHAS Releases Request for Proposals for 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Managing Entity
January 4, 2023
The New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS), Division of
Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) has issued a Request
for Proposals (RFP) for a 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline
Managing Entity.
DMHAS will provide funds to a single agency to establish itself...
President Biden Signs Omnibus Spending Bill into Law
January 3, 2023
On December 29, 2022, President Joe Biden signed a $1.65 trillion
omnibus spending package that will fund the federal government
through Fiscal Year 2023, which will end on September 30, 2023.
The legislation was passed by the Senate on December 22, 2022,
and subsequen...
Nine-Bill Package Aims to Address Healthcare Workforce Crisis in NJ
December 29, 2022
New Jersey has been contending with a healthcare
workforce crisis, just as many other states across the
nation. This crisis has prompted headlines such as "If
You Get Sick in NJ, Are There Enough Health Care Worke...
Nine-Bill Package Aims to Address Healthcare Workforce Crisis in NJ
December 29, 2022
New Jersey has been contending with a healthcare
workforce crisis, just as many other states across the
nation. This crisis has prompted headlines such as "If
You Get Sick in NJ, Are There Enough Health Care Worke...
NJAMHAA Executive and Members among Appointees to Opioid Recovery and Remediation Advisory Council
December 28, 2022
On December 22, 2022, Governor Phil Murphy announced the
appointments of 10 public members to the Opioid Recovery and
Remediation Advisory Council. Established under
Executive Order No. 305, the council will "provide
recommendations for uses of the funds that the St...
House to Vote on Omnibus Spending Bill
December 27, 2022
On December 22nd, the U.S. Senate passed an amended version of
the $1.65 trillion omnibus government spending package by a vote
of 68 in favor and 29 against. This bill would fund the federal
government through the end of the current fiscal year, as well as
through F...
Federal FY2023 Omnibus Budget Bill Includes Behavioral Health Increases and Positive Policy Changes
December 23, 2022
The U.S. Senate will vote tomorrow on a $1.7 trillion package
that would fund the federal government through September 30,
2023. The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 (H.R. 2617, which is more than 4,000 pages) is
known more simply as the Omnibus Budget Bill (Omn...
Biden-Harris Administration Releases a Strategic Plan to Reduce Homelessness 25% by 2025
December 20, 2022
The Biden-Harris Administration released
All In: The Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End
Homelessness, which aims to reduce homelessness in the
U.S. 25% by 2025. A fact sheet released by the White House states
that the new plan outlines new strategies to preve...
Biden Administration Announces COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan, More Free Tests
December 19, 2022
On December 15th, the Biden Administration released a fact sheet
on its COVID-19 Winter Preparedness Plan, focusing efforts on
making vaccinations, testing, and treatments even more widely
available and accessible as COVID-19 cases increase. As stated in
the
relea...
Lawmakers Reach Initial Framework Agreement for FY23 Spending Bill
December 15, 2022
It was announced this week by lawmakers in each federal house and
belonging to both parties that a bipartisan framework for a
full-year, a Fiscal Year 2023 (FY23) omnibus spending bill, has
been reached. In September, Congress passed a Continuing
Resolution (CR) that...
New Polling Shows New Jerseyans Support Expanding Medicare to All U.S. Residents
December 13, 2022
A new poll released by Rutgers Eagleton Center for Public
Interest Polling has found that a majority of New Jerseyans
support expanding Medicare to all U.S. residents. Generally,
Medicare is only available for those 65 and older ad individuals
with disabilities, End-...
Federal Government to Soon Stop Footing Bill for COVID-19 Treatment Pills, Vaccines
December 12, 2022
Pfizer's COVID-19 treatment pill, Paxlovid, was approved for use
by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in December 2021
and since then, nearly 6 million Americans have received the
treatment for free, using stores of the medication purchased and
distributed ...
