It's That Time of Year Again: The State Budget Cycle

Now that the holidays are behind us and the seemingly never-ending snow stretches before us, the MHSACM staff is gearing up for another budget cycle. For those of you not steeped in line items and outside sections, here's an overview of how the state budget cycle plays out:

• October 2007: Executive Office of Health and Human Services Budget Hearings (for a copy of MHSACM's testimony, visit the Members' Only section of our website and click on the Budget, Legislation & Regulations tab).
• January 23, 2008: Deadline for the release of Governor Patrick's budget recommendations.
• Winter/early spring 2008: Committees on Ways and Means Budget Hearings. April 2008: Release of the House Ways and Means budget which is then debated, amended and voted upon by the House.
• Late spring 2008: Release of the Senate Ways and Means budget which is then debated, amended and voted upon by the Senate.
• Early summer 2008: Legislative leaders make appointments to the budget conference committee that will resolve differences between the House and Senate spending bills and produce a final legislative budget known as a conference committee report. When policy language or appropriation amounts differ between the two budgets, those items are subject to conference negotiation. If appropriations or language are identical, those items are considered non-conferenceable.
• June 30, 2008: Deadline for passage of the FY 2009 state budget.
• July 2008: Probable Gubernatorial vetoes and subsequent override votes.

Rolling Out Rosie D

Feet are hitting the pavement in the implementation of Rosie D. As of December 31, 2007, primary care physicians are required to provide MassHealth-enrolled children a behavioral health screening at their "well-child" visits. Clinicians will be able to choose from eight standardized tools. If the screening indicates a behavioral health concern or a need for further assessment, the screening clinician must either provide the necessary services or refer the child to another provider who can provide the services. MHSACM will keep you informed of developments relative to implementation of the Rosie D. decision.

• For more information on the MassHealth Children's Behavioral Health Initiative, click here
• For a copy of the regulations relative to the Rosie D screening requirements, click here

Federal Update: Medicare and Medicaid Policy

Last month, Congress passed S. 2499, legislation that will impact both Medicare and Medicaid policy. Included in the bill is a six-month moratorium on changes to the Medicaid Rehabilitation and School-Based Services regulations. This moratorium will help minimize the impact of adverse proposed changes to these essential programs. This legislation also included a provision to extend the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) through March 2009. If the program is not renewed, Massachusetts could lose almost $850 million over 5 years. President Bush signed the legislation into law on December 29.

Massachusetts Standardized Documentation Update

The Massachusetts Standardized Documentation Project (MSDP), under the leadership of MHSACM, has undertaken the process of designing, developing and implementing a standardized documentation process that includes identification of the required clinical processes and specific data elements within each process that are needed to support the delivery of quality recovery focused services that are compliant with the requirements of all applicable funders and national accreditation bodies. Click here for an overview of the project, operational structure, timeline and benefits. Updates will also be posted on the new public MSDP UPDATE sub-website at http://www.mtmservices.org/MSDP-Update.html Please feel free to circulate all information to staff, stakeholders and other interested parties.