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A Look at Substance Use and Mental Health Treatment Facilities Across the U.S.
Issue BriefThis brief uses 2022 data from the National Substance Use and Mental Health Services Survey (N-SUMHSS), an annual survey sent to all substance use and mental health treatment facilities to assess the supply and characteristics of these facilities at a national and state level. Despite the escalation of mental health needs and the increasing and evolving opioid epidemic, accessing treatment continues to be difficult--as indicated by consumer surveys and national data. Factors like the decline in psychiatric beds, financing barriers, difficulty accessing outpatient treatment, and the growing workforce shortages have led to more reports of unmet need and psychiatric boarding in emergency departments. Overall, there are approximately 14,700 facilities providing substance use treatment services and about 9,500 facilities that offer mental health services. More than eight in ten substance use treatment facilities and mental health facilities provide outpatient services; smaller shares offers more intensive inpatient services. Substance use treatment and mental health bed availability varies across states. Most substance use and mental health treatment facilities are non-profit; however, for-profit ownership is more common among substance use treatment facilities, whereas public ownership is more common among mental health facilities. Most facilities report high participation with private insurance and Medicaid, but lower for Medicare and there is variation across states. Reported Medicaid participation by substance use treatment facilities varies across states.
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New Federal Support for the Public Health Workforce: Analysis of Funding by Jurisdiction
Issue BriefThis issue brief analyzes how the new CDC Public Health Infrastructure Grant (PHIG) workforce funding has been distributed across health departments in the U.S., and also jurisdictional plans for public health workforce hiring using funds from PHIG.
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A Look at Waiting Lists for Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services from 2016 to 2023
Issue BriefThis data note provides new information about waiting lists from KFF’s most recent survey of state Medicaid HCBS programs, including a discussion of why waiting lists are an incomplete measure of unmet need and why they are not necessarily comparable across states or over time.
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Waiting for Care: Three-Fourths of States Have Waiting Lists for Some Medicaid Home Care Programs
News ReleaseIn a new analysis of survey data from state Medicaid home care programs, KFF found that in most years since 2016, there have been nearly 700,000 people on waiting or interest lists for expanded home and community-based services (HCBS), with a total of 692,000 across 38 states in 2023 and waiting lists averaging three years.
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The Health Care Workforce Under Pressure – Strikes, Shortages, and Staffing Requirements
Event Date:EventAmid low unemployment and rising demand for services, today’s health care workforce is under pressure from several directions, including worker strikes; shortages of trained staff; and proposed new staffing standards for nurses and aides in nursing facilities. On November 16, a panel of three experts joined Larry Levitt, executive vice president for health policy at KFF, for a 45-minute discussion focused on the diverse challenges facing the health care workforce.
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Payment Rates for Medicaid Home- and Community-Based Services: States’ Responses to Workforce Challenges
Issue BriefIn response to long-standing workforce challenges in home- and community-based services, states have reported increasing Medicaid payment rates, providing more education and training or leveraging other strategies to recruit and retain workers.
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State Policies for Expanding Medicaid Coverage of Community Health Worker (CHW) Services
Issue BriefCommunity Health Workers (CHWs) are frontline workers who have close relationships with the communities they serve, allowing them to better liaise and connect community members to health care systems. States may authorize Medicaid payment for certain CHW services under state plan or Section 1115 demonstration authority. States may allow or require managed care organizations (MCOs) to provide CHW services or include CHWs in care teams. Many states use CHW services to address the health needs of targeted populations including enrollees with chronic conditions or complex behavioral or physical health needs, enrollees receiving targeted case management services, or frequent users of health care services
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A Look at Strategies to Address Behavioral Health Workforce Shortages: Findings from a Survey of State Medicaid Programs
Issue BriefState Medicaid strategies to address the behavioral health workforce shortage fall into four key areas: increasing rates, reducing burden, extending the workforce, and incentivizing participation.
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KHN and Guardian US Win National Press Club Award for “Lost on the Frontline”
News ReleaseKFF’s Kaiser Health News (KHN) and Guardian US have won the National Press Club’s top award for online journalism for their “Lost on the Frontline” investigation. The year-long project documented the lives of more than 3,600 health care workers in the U.S. who died after contracting covid-19 on the job. The Press Club’s Joan M.