Posted By Fuller Harvey On May 22, 2018
Bipartisan Support for EHR Incentives for Behavioral Health Agencies
“Bipartisan” – that beautiful but increasingly rare word describing political parties working together – signals the hopeful future for a bill which is making its way through our nation’s capitol building which would authorize the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to offer incentives for the implementation of electronic health records (EHR) for behavioral health providers.
The legislation, which was introduced in July of 2017 in both the House of Representatives and the Senate [by Representatives Lynn Jenkins (R, KS) and Doris Matsui (D, CA) and Senators Sheldon Whitehouse (E, RI) and Rob Portman (R, OH) is known as the “Improving Access to Behavioral Health Information Technology Act.” (S. 1732/H.R. 3331).
Senator Portman notes this “common-sense bill “would “help bring our behavioral health system in line with physician healthcare by enabling the same incentives for substance use and behavioral health providers that other medical professionals have received.”
It wouldn’t hurt to reach out to your senator and representative to assure they understand that their constituency is watching and waving pom-poms for the swift and sure passage of this legislation which will breathe life and hope into the very agencies which are themselves working tirelessly to breathe life and hope. better behavioral health agencies? Better behavioral health for us ALL.