NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

19 2010 - NJAMHAA was renamed the New Jersey Association of Mental Health and Addiction Agencies. 2010 - The MHPAEA was enacted in January as part of the A ordable Care Act. - The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services established a ve-star quality rating system. 2011 - NJAMHAA created the Health Maintenance Organization (HMO) Council. 2012 - The IT Project established a partnership with the New Jersey Health Information Technology Extension Center (HITEC) and EHR vendors. - June Noto, Vice President, IT, Human Resources and Administrative Services, was selected to serve as a statewide HIT Champion. - NJAMHAA successfully advocated for the elimination of proposed restrictions to Medicaid eligibility and copayments for non-emergent use of emergency rooms. 2011 - The rst Medicaid Accountable Care Organizations were created. NJAMHAA “NJAMHAA is crucial to our work every day.” – Mary Gay Abbott-Young, Current NJAMHAA Board Member Meanwhile, at NJAMHAA, the first full-time CEO, Len Altamura, DSW, LCSW, was hired. NJAMHAA had office space at provider agencies and in a couple of cases, the CEOs worked at their homes. As the staff was growing in the early 1990s, the association secured a larger office in Manasquan. A major NJAM- HAA advocacy accomplishment in 1994 was convinc- ing Governor Christine Todd Whitman not to include behavioral health in Medicaid Managed Care. Accord- ing to former NJAMHAA Board Chair Steve Ramsland, “The greatest achievement was getting people ready for managed care though it didn’t happen back then. Getting ready improved practice and increased members’ sophistication.” During the same year, NJAMHAA became a registered lobbying organization, making its presence on legis- lative issues more prominent. Soon after, NJAMHAA determined the need for an internal lobbyist and hired Debra L. Wentz, PhD., in 1995. “We had great leadership with Len and Deb. We were able to influence legislation and regulations, and see our impact,” said Vicki Sidrow, MPA, former NJAMHAA Board Chair and former President and CEO of Vantage Health System. In 1996, NJAMHAA was a major force in Congress’ passage of the Mental Health Parity Act through strong advocacy to Congresswoman Marge Roukema (R-NJ). This law required large group health plans to have equal annual and lifetime dollar limits on men- tal health and medical/surgical benefits. In 1999, Governor Christine Whitman signed into law a state mental health parity bill, which went further than the federal law by requiring coverage for biologically based mental illnesses and autism. Also in 1999, the U.S. Surgeon General’s report focused on mental health for the first time ever.