Advocacy
Advocacy
Priorities
Ensuring access to mental health and addiction treatment and recovery services could not be more urgent or important than at this time. A report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that symptoms of anxiety disorder were approximately three times higher and prevalence of depression about four times higher among adults during the second quarter of 2020 compared with the same period in 2019.
Meanwhile, overdoses have spiked during the Covid-19 pandemic with more than 40 states reporting increased opioid-related deaths, and an overall increase in overdoses of 18% between May of 2019 and 2020. At the same time, suicide rates have continued to rise, up 35% between 1999 and 2018, with early indications of additional increases in suicides more recently.
Our Covid-19 webpage is designed to help NABH members access important and applicable resources as they navigate the Covid-19 pandemic.
Removing Barriers to Care
Congress should eliminate outdated federal rules blocking access to cost-effective treatments.
Combating the SUD Crisis
Congress should increase access to substance use disorder treatment.
Expanding the Behavioral Health Workforce
Congress should expand the mental health and substance use disorder workforce.
CEO Update
CEO Update 194
NABH and Other Healthcare Groups Request Review of Three-Judge Panel’s Ruling in Wit v. UBH NABH last week requested that the full 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals review a recent ruling from a three-judge panel that erroneously reversed a trial court’s landmark decision last year in the mental health class action, Wit v. United Behavioral Health. NABH filed an ...Read moreCEO Update 193
CDC Predicts U.S. Overdose Deaths Surpassed 107,000 in 2021 More than 107,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2021, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released this week. The troubling statistic—the CDC predicts the total to be 107,622 lives lost— hit a new record, as the number of predicted overdose ...Read moreCEO Update 192
ASPE Report Studies Pandemic’s Effects on Hospital and Clinician Workforce A comprehensive report from HHS’ Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation (ASPE) examines the Covid-19 pandemic’s effects on the nation’s healthcare workforce and offers several recommendations, including removing barriers to practicing to the top of one’s license/certification, retaining Covid-19 flexibilities as appropriate, funding for scholarships, and ...Read moreCEO Update 191
CMS Behavioral Health Strategy Aims to Strengthen Equity, Improve Quality, and Provide Outreach to Beneficiaries The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently released The CMS Behavioral Health Strategy, a five-goal plan that aims to remove barriers to care and services and also adopt a data-informed approach to evaluate the agency’s behavioral health programs and ...Read more
Latest Content
The National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, are the people on the front lines of this fight…
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden
Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce
