NJAMHAA 75th Anniversary

38 75 th Anniversary with NJAMHAA’s advocacy directly to state leaders, led to an increased Medicaid fee-for-service rate for medication monitoring in 2017. That same year, the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS) raised reimbursement amounts for most Medicaid behavioral health services that were more in line with the costs of providing them. In response to additional feedback that the rates were still too low to cover costs and the resulting limited access to psychiatric care, DHS sought approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to update the Medicaid FFS schedule, including higher rates for certain evaluation and management codes used in outpatient hospital behavioral health medication management. Also in FY2017, NJTV News Anchor Mary Alice Williams interviewed Dr. Wentz about the FFS transition. Dr. Wentz explained that even though New Jersey has increased funding for mental health in general, substance use and mental health outpatient services have not seen sufficient increases in rates under the FFS system. She said this would result in providers not being able to deliver services for more than 30,000 individuals in need, who would seek care in much costlier emergency departments. NJAMHAA has been and continues to be an equally valuable resource for the media on substance use issues. For example, in October 2016, the Asbury Park Press published an extensive Q&A with Dr. Wentz about potential solutions to the heroin crisis in New Jersey. Dr. Wentz shared her insights on the high death toll, what was being done to address the problem, and how New Jersey could move forward by increasing access to services. And in February 2017, Dr. Wentz was interviewed by NJTV News about Governor Chris Christie’s announcement that the State will add 864 treatment beds for adults with co- occurring substance use disorders and mental illnesses. The Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act required the Government Accountability Office to authorize annual funding of more than $181 million to address the opioid and heroin crisis through prevention and education initiatives, law enforcement, criminal justice reform, overdose reversal, and treatment and recovery services for women, families and veterans. 2018 Celebrities Kate Spade and Anthony Bourdain took their lives. These tragedies led to more open discussions about mental health. 13 Reasons Why, a Netflix series based on a popular book, led to many more conversations about mental health taking place. 2017 While NJAMHAA has consistently gained visibility in traditional media every year, additional particularly noteworthy examples from recent years is the Diverse Faces campaigns’ media coverage. This campaign trilogy consisted of Diverse Faces, Many Lives: New Jerseyans Rely on Mental Health and Substance Use Treatment Services to Thrive in FY2022; Diverse Faces, Partners in Care in FY2023; and Diverse Faces: All Are Worthy of Full Investment in FY2024. The first Diverse Faces campaign led to one of Dr. Wentz’s op-eds being published in the Star-Ledger on May 20, 2022. NJAMHAA gained significantly more media attention from the second Diverse Faces campaign in 2023, including feature coverage in a business publication, New Jersey Business Magazine , on January 19, 2023. In addition, Mental Health Weekly , a national trade publication, published an article on February 13, 2023, based on a NJAMHAA press release and an interview with Dr. Wentz; and Dr. Wentz’s op-eds were published in the Burlington County Times, Press of Atlantic City and Star-Ledger , as well as on Northjersey.com in February 2023.