For Release: February 18, 2009
Contact: David Clementson
Email: dclementson@oag.state.va.us
Phone: 804-786-2071
McDonnell Announces $1 Million Challenge Grant for Statewide Mental Health Care
Grant Provided to Virginia Health Care Foundation
Foundation to Double Grant Amount; Funds Result of Two Settlements
RICHMOND - Attorney General Bob McDonnell today formally announced a $1 million challenge grant for the Virginia Health Care Foundation (VHCF) to provide mental health care in the Commonwealth. The grant is the result of two successful multi-state settlements secured by the Office of Attorney General Bob McDonnell, and Attorneys General from other states, with two national pharmacy benefits management companies. The settlements occurred in 2008.
McDonnell was joined at this morning’s press conference by Debbie Oswalt, Executive Director of the VHCF; Mary Ann Bergeron, Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards; Lou Markwith, Executive Director of the Virginia Association of Free Clinics; Rick Shinn, Director of Public Affairs for the Virginia Community Healthcare Association; Gil Minor, Chairman of Owens and Minor, and Chairman of the VHCF Fund Development Committee; Chief Deputy Attorney General Bill Mims, and other statewide leaders in the public health arena.
“Our office has worked with the Governor, the Virginia Supreme Court, leaders in the General Assembly, mental health care advocates and others to make mental health reform a top priority over the past three years,” Attorney General McDonnell said. “Mental illness is treatable, and we must do all we can to help those who suffer from it. This grant will assist in this effort. The Virginia Health Care Foundation will use these initial funds to raise an additional $1 million, and then use all of those funds to augment community mental health care resources. Today’s announcement means treatment for uninsured Virginians in need of mental health care. This doesn’t just benefit these individuals, it benefits our entire Commonwealth.”
Debbie Oswalt, executive director of the VHCF, said, “The Attorney General’s innovative approach of using the settlement funds as a challenge grant will double the amount of funding available to treat uninsured Virginians with basic medical or mental health needs. This creative leveraging has produced a financial incentive for collaboration among local community services boards and health safety net organizations, which should result in substantial long term dividends for uninsured Virginians with mental illness and their families and employers.”
The VHCF will use the $1 million grant for a special Mental Health Leadership Initiative. The full $2 million (the initial $1 million plus the $1 million match to be raised by the VHCF) will be distributed by the VHCF through a competitive grant process to Virginia’s health safety net providers. Approximately 8-10 three-year grants could be made to Virginia communities that want to offer primary health care to the seriously mentally ill or expand basic mental health services. All grants will ensure access to needed prescription medications. Those entities interested in providing basic mental health services could use the funds to hire mental health professionals to treat uninsured patients suffering from depression, anxiety, and other similar illnesses. These grants would place an emphasis on hiring mental health staff with expertise in medication management of mental illness and some disease management skills. Those entities interested in providing medical care to seriously mentally ill clients from local Community Services Boards could use the funds to hire necessary medical staff, and underwrite related costs, including prescription medications. The VHCF will be working in collaboration with the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards, Inc., the Virginia Association of Free Clinics, and the Virginia Community Healthcare Association.
Today’s grant is the result of two multi-state settlements entered into with Caremark Rx, L.L.C. and Express Scripts, Inc in February and May of 2008. The first settlement involved Virginia and 28 other states. The second involved Virginia and 30 other states. Both settlements involved claims that these pharmacy benefits management (“PBM”) companies engaged in deceptive business practices by encouraging doctors to switch patients to different brand name prescription drugs and representing that the patients and/or health plans would save money. It was alleged that doctors were not adequately informed of the effect certain drug switches would have on costs to patients and health plans. It also was alleged that these PBMs did not clearly disclose to their clients that rebates accrued from the drug switching process would be retained by the PBM and not passed directly to the client plan. From these two settlements Virginia received $1,030,116.94 to be used to benefit low income, disabled, or elderly consumers of prescription medications, to promote lower drug costs for state residents, to educate consumers concerning the cost differences among medications, or for similar purposes. Specifically, $793,279.92 resulted from the Caremark settlement, and $236,837.02 resulted from the Express Scripts settlement.
