MHMRA of Harris County - Annual Report FY 2012 2012 | страница 14

Investing in Healthy Minds and a Healthy Community

Investing in the Future
Every year brings its own opportunities and challenges. Here’s a
look at what we’re expecting for FY 2013:
Medicaid 1115 Waiver
The 1115 Waiver of the
Social Security Act gives
states funding and flexibility
to develop new, more costeffective approaches for
meeting Medicaid and
CHIP goals. In Texas, the
new Quality Based Payment
Reform plan will phase out
the Upper Payment Limit
program, which helped cover
hospitals’ financial losses from
providing under-compensated
care. The payment reform
plan brings Delivery System
Reform Incentive Payment
(DSRIP) with almost $3 billion
new local, state and federal
funds to transform the health
care delivery system, reduce
high-cost intensive services
utilization to address chronic
conditions, and improve
patient satisfaction and clinical
outcomes.
MHMRA has submitted
19 project proposals to our
region’s anchor for inclusion
in Texas’ funding request to
the Centers for Medicare and
Medicaid Services. Our top
priority among these projects is
to expand outpatient behavior
health services for adults who
have severe mental illness,
often life-long psychiatric
conditions that require
ongoing treatment. In Harris
County, there are estimated to
be approximately 86,000 adults
with a chronic mental health
condition without health
insurance. Current funding
from the Texas Department of
State Health Services allows
us to serve approximately

only 8,800 adults, with the
most severe forms of mental
illness. Once authorized
and in operation, MHMRA’s
DSRIP projects could help
eliminate our waiting lists for
services. Other projects include
developing a day hospital
to step people down from
psychiatric hospital care and
creating more opportunities
for integrated mental health
and primary care. If we receive
funding, we expect to begin
implementing approved
projects in late FY 2013.
Affordable Care Act
One aspect of the Patient
Protection and Affordable
Care Act gives each state
the option to participate in
Medicaid expansion. If Texas
were to participate, it has been
estimated that the state would
receive up to $100 billion in
federal money over 10 years
to help provide Medicaid
coverage to up to 4.1 million
people who are currently
uninsured. The 10 year cost to
the state has been estimated to
be between $10 and $15 billion.
This represents a significant
opportunity for our state, as 25
percent of Te