NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

22 in January 2010 as part of the Affordable Care Act, which added the requirement for mental health and SUD services to be included as Essential Health Benefits. The following year, NJAMHAA successfully advo- cated for significant increases in the Medicaid rates for children’s outpatient and psychiatric services. The association also convinced the state to provide waivers on its ban of therapeutic holds, address new staffing requirements for transportation and closely examine the impact of partial hospitalization rates and regulations. With a constant focus on strengthening providers’ fiscal strength to achieve sustainability, NJAMHAA not only continuously advocates for increased fund- ing for behavioral healthcare services, but also seeks ways for members to save money. One strategy was the IT Project’s creation of electronic health record (EHR) collaboratives, which enable several providers to save money by sharing the initial setup cost. In the 2000s, a state and nationwide focus on pro- viding integrated healthcare services was gaining momentum. NJAMHAA made a strong statement about its support of this goal in 2010 when 30 SUD treatment providers were recruited and “Addictions” was added to the association’s name to reflect that it officially became the state trade group for these spe- cialty treatment providers. A similar initiative took place on the state level in FY2011 as the budget for- mally merged the Division of Mental Health Services and the Division of Addiction Services into DMHAS. “Early on, mental health care and substance use treatment were isolated. Now, they’re part of main- stream health and providers are also addressing social issues, such as housing, that go along with 2019 - NJAMHAA’s advocacy contributed to the inclusion of several provisions in the SUPPORT Act. 2018 - NJAMHAA’s budget advocacy resulted in restoration of funding for Care Management Organizations and the creation of a budget line for FFS supplemental funds. 2019 - New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed into law S1339/A2031, which expanded coverage to include mental health conditions and SUD, strengthened enforcement and established a framework for transparency. - The federal First Step Act reauthorized the Second Chance Act. - The Medicaid Reentry Act was introduced. 2018 - CARA 2.0 of 2018 was signed into law. - The Senate passed S.1732, the Improving Access to Behavioral Health Information Technology Act. The House companion bill, H.R. 3331, was adopted by the House Energy and Commerce Committee as part of the package of opiate crisis-related legislation, which was adopted. - The Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act of 2018 was signed into law. “In response to our advocacy, the state built flexibility into contracts and many of those provisions, particularly the ability to move money around in our budgets, live with us today.” - Jim Cooney, Former NJAMHAA Board Chair