NJAMHAA-70th-anniversary-publication

25 In 2017, Governor Christie signed a telehealth bill into law and announced 25 initiatives to combat the opioid crisis. During the same year, the National Cer- tified Peer Specialist certification was created. The following year, several state and federal bills related to the opioid crisis were signed into law. The federal government enacted CARA 2.0 of 2018 to expand resources to address the opioid crisis; the Improving Access to Behavioral Health Information Technology Act was enacted as part of a package of opiate crisis-related legislation; and the Substance Use-Disorder Prevention that Promotes Opioid Recovery and Treatment (SUPPORT) for Patients and Communities Act of 2018 was signed into law. While NJAMHAA routinely advocates for resources to address the opioid crisis and other SUD treatment and mental health needs, the association continues its persistent advocacy for equally important, non- clinical services. For example, in 2018, NJAMHAA’s budget advocacy resulted in restoration of funding to Care Management Organizations. NJAMHAA also succeeded in having a budget line created for supplemental funds. In 2019, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy signed a new state parity bill (S1339/A2031) to expand cov- erage to include mental health conditions and SUD and strengthen enforcement of insurance compa- nies’ compliance with parity requirements. During the same year, the federal First Step Act reauthorized the Second Chance Act, which supports state and local reentry programs in efforts to reduce recidivism and provide individuals with supportive services, in- cluding mental health and SUD treatment, following their release from prison. Also in 2019, NJAMHAA’s advocacy contributed to the inclusion of several specific provisions in the federal SUPPORT for Patients and Communities Act. In ad- dition, on the federal level, the Medicaid Reentry Act was introduced. In 2020, the National Action Alliance for Suicide Pre- vention launched its Mental Health & Suicide Pre- vention National Response to COVID-19; the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act was signed into law; and the Jim Ramstad Model State Parity Legislation was launched by The Kennedy Forum to hold health insurers accountable for wrongly denying coverage of care. In addition, the Mental Health Services for Students Act of 2020 (H.R.1109) amended the Pub- lic Health Service Act to revise and extend projects relating to children and to provide access to school- based comprehensive mental health programs. In New Jersey, NJAMHAA helped draft a bill to establish a grant program for screening centers to expand their mobile services, establish satellite offices and provide other outreach to the community, and it was signed into law. As further testament to NJAMHAA’s impact, the association received the Advocacy Leadership Award for Organizational Excellence from the National Council for Behavioral Health based on a steady stream of advocacy successes, including waivers that expanded access to Medication Assisted Treatment, an increased rate for long-term residential SUD treatment and telehealth guidance reducing partial care service requirements to meet each client’s needs rather than universally requiring a minimum number of hours. NJAMHAA persevered and continued to succeed in its advocacy during the coronavirus pandemic, focusing equally on the new challenges the public health emergency introduced, existing difficulties that were exacerbated by the pandemic and other ongoing issues. Successes at both the state and fed- eral levels include: reimbursement for services pro- vided through telehealth and in alternate locations; having the Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) rapidly respond to requests for emergency funding by issuing monthly retainer payments for state-funded contracts in lieu of having providers bill fee-for- “We saw SUD treatment providers represented in the media more than in earlier years.” - Manny Guantez, Former NJAMHAA Board Member