National Association of Counties
On March 29, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee released a report entitled Mental Health Care in the United States: The Case for Federal Action. The 36-page report was jointly authored by majority and minority committee staff, and provides a summary of issues raised during the two committee hearings held this past February on youth mental health (Part 1 and Part 2), as well as responses to the committee’s Request for Information (RFI) made last September.
The report highlighted many of the recommendations outlined in NACo’s response to the RFI, including:
Despite not being specifically mentioned in the report, NACo is also supportive of removing barriers to treatment and services that are caused by federal Medicaid exclusion policies like the Medicaid Institutions for Mental Disease (IMD) and the Medicaid Inmate Exclusion Policy (MIEP), which restrict the use of Medicaid for behavioral health services provided in jails and certain inpatient settings.
The full report can be found here. This report marks the Finance Committee’s next step in their effort to craft a bipartisan legislative package on behavioral health, which the committee intends to consider this summer. NACo will continue to work collaboratively with the committee to advance policy that will improve and increase access to mental and behavioral health services for county residents.
<p>Counties are directing resources to programs, practices and policies to reduce the overuse and misuse of the criminal legal system, improve public safety, better serve residents with behavioral health conditions and improve communit
<p>Counties play a key role in public health at the local level, as the conveners of multi-sector stakeholders, administrators of federal health-funding programs, like Medicaid, and providers of many crucial health services for residen
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<h1>With <a id="naco" name="naco">NACo</a>, Saving Feels Better</h1>
<p>NACo's Opioid Solutions Center empowers local leaders to invest resources in effective treatment, recovery, prevention and harm reduction practices that save lives and address the underlying causes of substance use disorder.
With American Rescue Plan funds, counties are strengthening America’s workforce, addressing the nation’s behavioral health crisis, expanding broadband access, improving housing affordability and building prosperous communities for the next generation.
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