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RCPA has been working with a multi-association group to oppose the federal proposed American Health Care Act (AHCA)/ Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA). We previously sent a letter to Senators Casey and Toomey and are now planning a letter to the editor and press conference. The effort has been led by the Hospital and Healthsystem Association of PA (HAP), but has been a very collaborative initiative, and RCPA will be speaking at the press conference along with several other associations. We encourage you to attend this event which is being held at the Capitol in Harrisburg on Wednesday, July 19 at 11:00 am. For additional information contact Jack Phillips, Director of Government Affairs.

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The Senate has released its version of the American Health Care Act and it is worse than we feared. The Senate bill will cut Medicaid even more than the House bill in the future, putting tremendous pressure on safety-net services and providers.

But there is still time to act! The Senate is gearing up for a vote in the coming days, so NOW is the time to speak up and protect Medicaid.

unite-4-bhTaking action is easy:

  1. Dial this number: 202-224-3121
  2. Ask for your Senator.
  3. Share with them this message:
    • Your Message: I am calling to ask the Senator to vote NO on the Better Care Reconciliation Act. Cutting Medicaid and rolling back the Medicaid expansion will have a devastating effect on people with mental illnesses and addictions who rely on Medicaid for lifesaving treatment. Please vote NO. I’m calling from [city, state, and zip] and my name is [first and last name].
  4. Call your other Senator and share the same message!

Thank you to all who have taken action on this issue so far this year. We appreciate your hard work and dedication and ask that you continue to mobilize and advocate on this critical issue! Together, we can protect and preserve Medicaid for millions of Americans in need.

 

Questions, contact Jack Phillips.

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Until today, it was hard to imagine a bill could be worse for Americans living with addiction and mental illness than the AHCA bill passed last month by the House of Representatives.

The Senate version of the American Health Care Act purports to be a “repeal and replace” of the Affordable Care Act, but is really a draconian restructuring and gutting of Medicaid, the program that covers 20% of Americans and is one of the primary payers of addiction and mental health treatment in the U.S.

Instead of “repeal and replace,” it is “wreck and wreak havoc.”

The bill’s supporters have said that their newest proposal would “soften the landing” for Americans who will lose Medicaid coverage. In reality, the landing would be catastrophic. There is nothing “soft” about ripping health care away from the 11 million Americans enrolled in the Medicaid expansion. The new bill also shifts hundreds of billions of dollars in costs to states—leaving them with a Sophie’s Choice of which populations and benefits to cut in order to close their budget shortfalls. Seniors? Pregnant woman? People with a preexisting condition, like cancer or a heart attack? Who do we help, and who do we turn our back on?

The Senate bill also slices and dices Medicaid enrollees into the deserving and the undeserving, exempting some populations with disabilities from the caps while leaving other vulnerable individuals—like people with addictions—out in the cold. Lawmakers must remember that people with addictions do not qualify as “disabled” under a Gingrich-era change that excluded them from Social Security Disability. The proposed cuts to Medicaid would disproportionately harm those who rely on Medicaid for lifesaving opioid addiction treatment, at a time when mortality from the opioid epidemic is growing at devastating speed each year. We are facing a national emergency on opioids – now is hardly the time to reduce our efforts.

The bill’s feeble attempts to bolster psychiatric treatment while stripping health care away from millions are paltry at best. While the outdated law prohibiting Medicaid funding for services provided in residential or inpatient treatment settings deserves to be changed, the small tweak to this payment exclusion that is included in the bill will do nothing to mitigate the loss of Medicaid coverage for millions—nor does it provide for important outpatient care serving people in their own communities. The proposed one-year grant fund for mental health and addiction treatment in 2018 doesn’t come close to meeting the real—and growing—need for care. Grants are not a substitute for health coverage. We don’t rely on grants for the treatment of heart disease or cancer, and addiction and mental health should be no different.

Congress has made incredible strides in advancing access to care for mental illness and addiction in recent years. It is shocking that members of Congress – many of whom have family members who would be affected and all of whom represent constituencies who would be gravely harmed – would even consider a bill that would obliterate these gains, returning us to the days when people with mental illness or addiction couldn’t access treatment.

This is not our vision for America. Slashing billions of Medicaid dollars from state budgets would cost hundreds of thousands of lives. The National Council urges the Senate to vote down this reprehensible bill.

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The National Council for Behavioral Health is the unifying voice of America’s community mental health and addictions treatment organizations. Together with 2,800 member organizations, it serves more than eight million adults and children living with mental illnesses and addiction disorders. The organization is committed to ensuring all Americans have access to comprehensive, high-quality care that affords every opportunity for recovery and full participation in community life. The National Council, the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, and the Missouri Department of Mental Health pioneered Mental Health First Aid in the U.S. and has trained more than 1 million individuals to connect youth and adults in need to mental health and addictions care in their communities. To learn more about the National Council, visit the official website.

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Early this week, Richard Edley, RCPA President/CEO, met with staffers from Congressmen Costello, Dent, Fitzpatrick, and Meehan’s offices, as well as Senators Toomey and Casey to discuss the current negotiations taking place on health care. RCPA highlighted the financial impacts that the “American Health Care Act” would have on Pennsylvanians and urged the Congressmen and Senators to oppose any proposal that results in cuts or rollbacks of Medicaid. RCPA stressed that Medicaid is the single largest payer of mental health and addiction treatment services in the country. Any proposals that rollback Medicaid coverage or restrict people’s access to treatment will have a significant impact on this vulnerable population.

Additionally, RCPA staff had a productive meeting with Charlotte Pineda in Congressman Fitzpatrick’s office. In that meeting, RCPA gave its support to Congressman Fitzpatrick’s “Road to Recovery Act.” This bipartisan bill addresses the antiquated and problematic IMD Final Rule and will enable Pennsylvania to expand access to residential treatment for substance use disorders, while not intruding on a state’s flexibility to implement care. Jack Phillips, RCPA Director of Government Affairs, will be scheduling additional follow-up meetings with the Congressman and his staff on the “Road to Recovery Act” and other health care issues.

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Call Congress to Protect Medicaid TODAY!

The Senate looks primed to introduce and vote on health care legislation by the end of this month that would repeal Medicaid expansion and fundamentally restructure the Medicaid program. Call your Senators TODAY and urge them to oppose these changes!

Remind your Senators of the critical role Medicaid plays in providing access to lifesaving treatment services to millions of Americans living with mental illness and addiction.  Dedicating a few minutes of your time today can help save Medicaid access for millions of Americans in need.

take-action

 

Instructions for Call-In Day

  1. Dial this number: 202-224-3121
  2. Ask for your Senators.
  3. Share with them this message:
  • Your message: “I am calling about the American Health Care Act. I urge you to oppose any proposal that results in cuts or rollbacks of Medicaid. Medicaid is the single largest payer of mental health and addiction treatment services in the country. Any proposals that rollback Medicaid coverage or restrict people’s access to treatment will have a significant impact on this vulnerable population. The House-passed bill directly targets important health care protections like the essential health benefits, protections for those with pre-existing conditions and hurts efforts to achieve parity in health care. I’m calling from [city, state, and zip] and my name is [first and last name].” 

Sincerely,
Chuck Ingoglia
Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Practice Improvement
National Council for Behavioral Health

Questions, contact Jack Phillips.

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nc-action-alertNow that Congress has finalized the FY2017 appropriations process, it is poised to begin working on appropriations for FY2018.

Mental Health First Aid champion Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) is today circulating a letter requesting continued funding for Mental Health First Aid trainings. The program that provides training to emergency first responders, law enforcement personnel, primary care personnel, Human Resources professionals, faith community leaders, veterans, teachers, and students and their parents.

take-action

 

Will you please take two minutes and urge your Senator to sign on to the Dear Colleague letter (text below) supporting Mental Health First Aid training for this important population?

Earlier this year, Representatives Lynn Jenkins (R-KS) and Doris Matsui (D-CA) circulated a similar letter and due, in part, to outreach by National Council advocates, 23 bipartisan legislators signed on to a letter supporting Mental Health First Aid in the House.

Today, we are asking you again to demonstrate that bipartisan, nationwide support for Mental Health First Aid and ask your Senators to sign on.
Thank you for your hard work and advocacy!

Sincerely,

Chuck Ingoglia
Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Practice Improvement
National Council for Behavioral Health

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The Honorable Roy Blunt                              The Honorable Patty Murray
Chairman                                                        Ranking Member
Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations                 Senate Labor/HHS Appropriations
Subcommittee                                                 Subcommittee
135 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.                    156 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510                                Washington, D.C.  20510
 
Dear Chairman Blunt and Ranking Member Murray:
 
We are writing to urge you to include the current funding level of $15 million for Mental Health First Aid and important Committee report language in the FY 2018 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (L-HHS) appropriations bill. This important mental health training program will improve education and awareness about mental illness in our communities, giving those trained the ability to intervene and address mental health crises as they happen.
 
Mental Health First Aid is an evidenced-based education program that helps the public identify, understand, and respond to the signs of mental illness. Since FY 2014, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has funded state and local educational agencies to support the training of school personnel including classroom teachers, counselors, and principals.  Most recently, the agency has maintained the program’s youth focus, but expanded the eligible grantees to include youth-focused organizations and nonprofits, as well as community colleges.
 
Last year, as part of its One Mind Campaign, the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP) endorsed Mental Health First Aid as an evidence-based practice to improve law enforcement interactions involving persons with mental illnesses.  To date, nearly sixty local law enforcement agencies have adopted the IACP One Mind Campaign pledge to train and certify 100 percent of their incoming cadets, sworn patrol officers, and police dispatchers in Mental Health First Aid.
 
In view of these developments, we are proposing the inclusion of committee report language that would add public safety audiences to the Mental Health First Aid program. Particularly for law enforcement personnel, the crisis de-escalation component of the training protects the lives of both officers and citizens experiencing psychiatric crises.
 
Therefore, we ask that the Committee add this language to the FY 2018 Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) report:
 
Mental Health First Aid – The Committee is pleased with the progress of Mental Health First Aid including training more than 740,000 Americans to recognize the signs and symptoms of common mental disorders. In continuing competitive funding opportunities, SAMHSA is directed to include as eligible grantees local law enforcement agencies, fire departments, and emergency medical units with a special emphasis on training for crisis de-escalation techniques. SAMHSA is also encouraged to prioritize training for veterans, armed services personnel, and their family members within the Mental Health First Aid program.
 
As mental illness impacts the lives of millions of Americans and their families and too many mental health disorders continue to go undiagnosed and untreated, we must make prudent investments to improve mental health awareness in our communities. That is why we urge you to support funding for Mental Health First Aid in FY 2018 and include this important report language.
 
Sincerely,
 
Richard Blumenthal
U.S. Senator

 

Questions, contact Jack Phillips.

 

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Congress will vote TODAY on the American Health Care Act. While congressional leaders believe they have the votes to pass the health care reform bill, experts are saying this vote will come down to the wire.

With dozens of legislators still undecided, constituent advocacy and outreach are the only things that will move votes into the “No” column. Will you take action today and urge Congress to vote “No” on the American Health Care Act?

  1. Dial this number: 202-224-3121 and ask for your Representative.
  2. Share with them this message:
    • Your message: “I am calling about the American Health Care Act. I urge you to oppose the amended bill and reject any proposal that results in cuts or rollbacks of Medicaid. The amended bill directly targets important protections like the essential health benefits and protections for those with pre-existing conditions and hurts efforts to achieve parity in health care. Any proposals that rollback Medicaid coverage or restrict people’s access to treatment will have a devastating effect on millions of Americans with mental illness or addiction. I’m calling from [city, state, and zip] and my name is [first and last name].”

**Need help finding your Rep? Click here!**

Since January, thousands of National Council advocates have engaged with us and their legislators, writing letters, making phone calls and hosting meetings. Thousands of advocates have worked hard to ensure their voices and their priorities were heard on Capitol Hill. We thank you for that amazing work and hope you will join us once again today as we work to stop the passage of this harmful legislation.

Together, we can work to preserve Medicaid and protect coverage of mental health and addictions treatment for millions of Americans. Together, we can #Unite4BH!

Sincerely,

Chuck Ingoglia
Senior Vice President, Public Policy and Practice Improvement
National Council for Behavioral Health

 

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