Why You Should Care About IDD Managed Care — Webinar With RCPA President/CEO Richard Edley and XtraGlobex President Fady Sahhar on Dec. 14
National Council for Mental Wellbeing
Urgent: We Need Your Help Now to Make Sure Congress Prioritizes Mental Health in the End of Year Legislative Package
Did You Know Your RCPA Membership Includes ANCOR and National Council Benefits?
National Council for Mental Wellbeing Telehealth Survey
Expanding telehealth services during the COVID-19 pandemic was crucial to provide quality mental health and substance use treatment services to clients.
Did your organization provide telehealth services? What services will you continue post-pandemic?
We want to hear about your experiences! The survey will take less than 10 minutes to complete and will assist RCPA in our State and Federal Telehealth advocacy efforts.
Please complete the brief survey by 11:59 pm ET on Wednesday, Oct. 26.
The National Council will use these survey findings as part of a larger effort to collect and share data with policymakers, payers, and the field at large to improve access to mental health and substance use treatment services nationwide.
If you have any questions, please contact RCPA Policy Director Jim Sharp.
The Solution to America’s Mental Health Crisis Already Exists
IDD Committee Meeting Follow-Up Materials
Historic New Mental Health Provisions Now Law — Message From National Council
Senate Passes Impactful Mental Health Legislation
As reported by the National Council for Mental Wellbeing, the Senate last night passed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, critical legislation to dramatically increase funding for mental health programs and reduce the threat and incidence of violence in America.
Introduced by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas), the bill provides funding to increase access to mental health and substance use services, notably through expanding Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) nationwide. This will connect considerably more people to lifesaving care, while helping support and grow the mental health and substance use treatment workforce.
The bill also includes aid to broaden access to telehealth services and mental health awareness programs, such as Mental Health First Aid (MHFA), and provides additional funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline ahead of next month’s 988 implementation, which will help save lives and provide needed support to strengthen the capacity of our crisis care system.
Given the speed the bill is moving, the National Council created an excellent initial analysis of the bill and its potential impact.
Key provisions include:
- Expanding the CCBHC program to allow any state or territory the opportunity to apply to participate in the demonstration and allocating additional planning grant monies for states to develop proposals to participate;
- Starting in July 2024, and every two years thereafter, 10 additional states will be selected to join the demonstration.
- The eight original demonstration sites will be extended until September 2025, and the two newer demo states (Kentucky and Michigan) are extended to six years after their program launch.
- $250 million for the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant;
- $120 million in additional funding for mental health awareness training programs;
- $150 million in additional funding for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline for FY 2022; and
- New requirements for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to provide guidance to states on how they can increase access to care via telehealth under Medicaid and CHIP, including strategies related to training and providing resources for providers and patients.
If you have questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.
RCPA Update: National Council’s Hill Day at Home 2022
RCPA hopes that you found the National Council on Mental Wellbeing’s Hill Day at Home 2022 a valuable experience. This year’s focus supported the initiatives that are affecting our organizations and delivery of services to vulnerable consumers across Pennsylvania and our nation.
Be sure to check out the overview from Hill Day at Home 2022 that outlines the issues, impacts, strategies, and “The Ask” from our legislators and stakeholders. These include:
- Fulfilling the Promise of 988;
- Support for the Expansion of Certified Community Behavioral Health Centers (CCBHCs);
- Curbing the Nation’s Substance Use Crisis; and
- Addressing the Mental Health & Substance Abuse Treatment Workforce in America.
RCPA will continue to collaborate with the National Council and our members to advocate for these and other critical initiatives.
If you have any questions, please contact your RCPA Policy Director.
National Council Survey: Nearly Half of All U.S. Adults Who Needed SUD, Mental Health Care Did Not Get It
Today, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing released the results of its first comprehensive consumer survey on access to mental health and substance use care, showing there are significant unmet needs, far more than physical health needs.
Results from the 2022 Access to Care survey, conducted by The Harris Poll, show a staggering 43 percent of U.S. adults who say they needed substance use or mental health care in the past 12 months but did not receive that care. They identified numerous barriers that stand between them and needed treatment. You can download the full survey results here.
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