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Increasing Access to Care through Advocacy

We worked at the state and federal levels to advocate for and help pass legislation that increases access to care, while helping our members do the same through trainings.

Securing Historic Legislation

Our relentless advocacy contributed to the passing of the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act in June, the largest investment in mental health and substance use treatment programs in 50 years. The new law expands the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model nationwide and includes significant funding increases for life-changing programs like Mental Health First Aid and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Advancing Our Members’ Priorities

We fought to include key National Council priorities in the year-end spending bill, including measures to reauthorize vital substance use and mental health care programs, address the workforce shortage, expand access to critical services in Medicare and Medicaid, extend telehealth, fund CCBHCs, ensure parity enforcement and remove barriers to care for individuals living with a substance use challenge.

Investing in CCBHCs Nationwide

In addition to helping expand CCBHCs – we eclipsed our goal of 500 CCBHCs by 2025 three years early – we conducted more than 73,000 technical assistance (TA) sessions across our CCBHC TA Center and Center of Excellence for Integrated Health Solutions (CoE-IHS). We also created a resource guide for all Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) CCBHC grantees, delivered implementation assistance through our CCBHC Success Center and distributed a CCBHC Impact Report, which highlights the important work CCBHCs are doing in 46 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico.

Supporting 988 Implementation

July 16 marked a new era in crisis care for America – the transition to 988 as the three-digit dialing code to reach the expanded and enhanced National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. In addition to advocating for the 9-8-8 Implementation Act, we supported the transition by contributing to national convenings and 988 playbooks, developing informational materials, hosting webinars with partners and promoting 988 as the easy-to-remember number for suicide prevention, mental health and substance use crisis response services.

Raising the Volume on Capitol Hill

We generated dozens of policy-focused press hits that elevated members’ and National Council’s profiles throughout the year. And we provided advocacy training through Hill Day at Home, our annual event that equips health care professionals with the tools and knowledge to advocate for important issues in and beyond their community. All in all, our collaborative advocacy (direct and grassroots) reached 100% of Congress this year.

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