CMSA MEMBERS MAKE AN IMPACT ON CAPITOL HILL

Last week, 50 CMSA members met virtually with members of Congress and their staff to represent case managers nationwide and advocate for CMSA’s public policy priorities. Participants in the 2023 CMSA Virtual Hill Visits Program worked to educate legislators about the importance of case managers and their critical role in improving patient health outcomes. This important event helped to elevate the professional practice of case management and the immediate needs of case managers nationwide.

CMSA is committed to advocating for the following legislative priorities:

• WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT:  CMSA is highly committed to workforce development initiatives defined in three ways: development of professional skill set, attracting new case managers to the professional practice and recognition of case management as a critical component of the healthcare team.
  
  
• TELEHEALTH:  While telehealth is certainly not a new technology or a new mode of communication,  recent temporary policy changes have reduced barriers to telehealth access and have promoted its use to deliver acute, chronic, primary and specialty care. CMSA supports both state and federal legislation around telehealth to make access permanent, include case managers in reimbursement models and understand potential limitations.
  
  
• MENTAL HEALTH:  CMSA is committed to being actively involved in ensuring mental health services are a critical component within the integrated case management model of care and that the temporary funding for expanded mental health services and substance use disorder services is made permanent. While awareness of mental illness and substance use disorder is on the rise, more formal policy is needed to support community programs, overall funding and continued access.

Through nearly 30 scheduled meetings, participants of the CMSA Virtual Hill Visits Program made progress in advancing the awareness of the professional practice of case management to ensure “a seat at the table” for future healthcare legislation. Additionally, CMSA advocates worked for more permanent access to and funding for both telehealth and mental health services beyond the public health emergency, set to expire on May 11th.

CMSA’s public policy efforts are ongoing, and includes educational webinars, articles, blogs and in-person sessions. Additionally, work continues to support the CMSA Chapters with their grass-roots efforts and encourages all case managers to be active locally and at the state level. Stay tuned for what's next and more information on how you can get involved and make an impact.