New Code Expected to Boost Peer Support Profession

A major step was recently taken to incorporate peer specialists as integral parts of the healthcare industry.

The National Uniform Coding Committee (NUCC) approved coding of peer specialist services on March 18. This coding, specific to peer specialists, will enable state and federal agencies to bill peer support services more effectively and facilitate better tracking of such services. The NUCC is made up of major health care providers and insurance industry members including the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services, and other public health organizations.

The coding is especially important for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, the largest single employer of peer specialists, as it will allow that department to more efficiently bill and track peer specialists’ work. There are other benefits, according to Dan O’Brien-Mazza, Director of Peer Support Services for the department.

“This classification puts peer specialists on par with other mental health professionals,” he says. “It is a measure of respect and recognition of the important and valuable services peer specialists provide. It better allows peer specialists to work alongside other mental health professionals. No one can say peer specialist is not a legitimate health care profession.”

Approval of the classification is an indicator of a maturing profession delivering on outcomes of strength-based recovery and whole health, according to Larry Fricks, Director of the Appalachian Consulting Group.

“When a new workforce emerges (peer specialists) it moves forward in increments. We are on a critical path,” Fricks says. “With this classification and key milestones like the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services proclaiming peer support services as evidence-based in 2007 and providing states with billing guidelines, our role is increasingly valued. We may still have challenges, but this is another significant step in the right direction.”

O’Brien-Mazza says the classification is likely to have additional importance as the Department of Veterans Affairs strives to expand peer specialists into larger, whole health roles.

The NUCC defines the classification as follows: Peer Specialists—Individuals certified to perform peer support services through a training process defined by a government agency such as the Department of Veterans Affairs, or a state mental health department/certification/licensing authority.

The new code will be included in a July 1 release of changes to the code set and will be effective Oct. 1, 2014. Although many states have other codes to use to bill Medicaid, this new classification is likely to be adopted by states in order to simplify billing and keep more accurately account for peer support activities and services.

“Dan deserves much credit for this accomplishment,” says Steve Harrington, Executive Director of the International Association of Peer Supporters. “It was his leadership that resulted in this important step. This is yet another way the Department of Veterans Affairs has been leading the development of peer support in the U.S.”

Senators Push for Reversal of Policy on Condolence Letters

Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) and 10 other senators are calling on President Obama to reverse the current policy of not sending condolence letters to families of service members who take their own lives. Although the White House promised in 2009 to review the policy, there has been no progress as of yet. "Unfortunately, perpetuating a policy that denies condolence letters to families of service members who die by suicide only serves to reinforce this stigma by overshadowing the contributions of an individual's life with the unfortunate nature of his or her death," the letter says. "It is simply unacceptable for the United States to be sending the message to these families that somehow their loved ones' sacrifices are less important." (CNN, 5/26/11)

Senate Panel Urges VA to Do More to Prevent Vet Suicides

With suicide rates among veterans increasing, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee members last week urged the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to do more to prevent veterans from taking their own lives. The VA reported that veterans accounted for roughly 20 percent of the 30,000 individuals who committed suicide in the United States last year. Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.), chairman of the panel, said that in at least 13 cases veterans completed suicide or died from drug overdoses while waiting to receive help from the VA. She noted that in April the VA's suicide hotline fielded more than 14,000 calls, or more than 450 a day, the most ever for a single month. (Miami Herald, 5/25/11)

Mental Health Issues Related to Veterans in the News

IN FOCUS: VETERANS AND MILITARY MENTAL HEALTH
Court Calls for Overhaul of VA Mental Health Services: A federal appeals court has ordered the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to dramatically overhaul its mental health care system. The court criticized both Congress and the administration for failing vets. The "unchecked incompetence" in handling the flood of post-traumatic stress disorder and other mental health claims is unconstitutional, the court said. It noted that it takes the VA an average of four years to fully provide mental health benefits owed to veterans and often takes weeks for a veteran with suicidal thoughts to get an initial appointment. One member of the three-judge panel dissented, stating that the decision would only prolong litigation and complicate the agency’s efforts to improve services. (Reuters, 5/10/11)

More Than Half of Recent Vets Have Mental Health Problems: More than half of all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in Department of Veterans Affairs’ hospitals since 2002 have been diagnosed, at least preliminarily, with mental health problems, according to statistics. The data, which is released quarterly, also shows that the raw number of returning soldiers with psychological problems is rising. Nearly 18,000 new patients were treated for mental health issues at VA facilities in the last three months of last year—the most recent time period for which data is available— upping the total to more than 330,000. (Pro Publica, 5/11/11)

Stress of Troops Reaches Five-Year High: U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan are experiencing some of the greatest psychological stress and lowest morale in five years of fighting, according to a military study. Mental health strain was most severe among veterans of three or more deployments, with a third of those showing signs of psychological problems defined as either stress, depression or anxiety. The report notes that the number of mental health staff has doubled in war zones in order to ensure treatment is available immediately for soldiers who suffer psychological trauma. (USA Today, 5/8/11)

Few Troops Exposed to Bomb Blasts Examined for Concussions: More than half of U.S. combat troops in Afghanistan have been exposed to bomb blasts in the last year, but only about 1 in 5 of them said they were examined for concussions, according to a draft of a recent military survey. Medical officials failed to screen about 80 percent of soldiers and Marines who reported being within 50 meters of a roadside blast during their tour of duty, according to combat troops surveyed in July and August of last year. However, the survey was conducted before the full implementation of a new policy beginning in June that mandates screening of troops exposed to bomb blasts. (Pro Publica, 5/10/11)