HR Bill 2446 was rolled into section 207 of HR 2646 and passed the House by a vote of 422-2 on July 6, 2016.

• There were some Medicaid provisions in the Mental Health bill and therefore, to incorporate the following items
  • EVV vendor neutrality clauses were added
  • The scope was expanded from PCA services only to include home health services as well

There is a good chance of passing the Senate for several reasons:

• Strong vote, 422-2; strong bi-partisan support
• The EVV provision shows a clear path to offset the costs of HR 2646 section 206 (effective Jan 1, 2019 children receiving Medicaid in-patient psychiatric hospital services are also eligible for the full range of screenings, diagnostic & treatment services)
• Federal Office of the Inspector General recognizes that in home services are high risk for fraud, waste and abuse

Resources: 

• Fact Sheet on Mental Health HR Bill 2646: https://energycommerce.house.gov/sites/republicans.energycommerce.house.gov/files/documents/114/analysis/HR_2646.pdf
• Mental Health Bill passes: https://energycommerce.house.gov/news-center/press-releases/recordofsuccess-house-passes-landmark-bipartisan-mental-health-reform
• Full Section by Section of HR Bill 2646: http://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF00/20160614/105076/HMKP-114-IF00-20160614-SD003.pdf
• EVV HR Bill 2446: https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/2446