NJAMHAA FY2022 Annual Report

11 federal advocacy campaigns for CCBHCs and was pleased to see the following items included in the President’s proposal: • Convert existing and new demonstration programs to a sustainable Medicaid state plan option. • Maintain the demonstration’s enhanced federal matching rate under the state plan option. • Provide states and territories that choose to partic- ipate with planning grant funding. • Provide $553 million for the CCBHC Expansion Grant program. Stay tuned to hear more about the wins NJAMHAA achieves at the federal level! Federal Advocacy Throughout FY2022, NJAMHAA was a leading ad - vocate to sustain and expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs). After secur - ing a three-year extension of the demonstration program through September 30, 2023 in the December 2020 federal Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which also added two states to the demonstration program and increased funding for expansion grants, NJAMHAA continued its advocacy to con- vert the model to a permanent national program with sustained funding. In August 2021, NJAMHAA garnered signatures from all 19 member organizations operating CCBHCs (seven in the origi - nal demonstration program and 12 under expansion grants) on a letter to Congressman Frank Pallone asking that the Excellence in Mental Health Act be included in the Build Back Better (BBB) reconciliation package. While the BBB ultimately did not pass the Senate, we were successful in having the Excellence Act included. This Act would have nationalized the CCBHC demonstration and increased funding for expansion grants. While NJAMHAA continues to work to see this bill signed into law, our years of advocacy have built broad support that should make our goal achievable in the near future. Also in August 2021, many CCBHC members joined NJAMHAA in a meeting with Congressman Pallone’s District Director with the sole focus being CCBHC ex - pansion and permanency. In December, many again joined NJAMHAA, this time for a meeting with the Congressman. While a primary focus was once again the CCBHC model, this opportunity to meet directly with Congressman Pallone, who chairs the Energy and Commerce Committee, included advocacy on several other federal policy priorities. Throughout October and November, NJAMHAA advo- cated on its full list of priority federal bills in meetings with many other members of New Jersey’s Congres - sional delegation. The priority bills at the time includ- ed: • Excellence in Mental Health and Addiction Treatment Act - HR4323/S2069: Expands the Medicaid Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) demonstration program and au - thorizes funding for additional grants to CCBHCs. (At publishing, it has been reported that this bill will be included in the gun safety legislation Con - gress is currently negotiating.) • Mainstreaming Addiction Treatment Act - HR1384/S445: Among other streamlining provisions, removes the requirement for a separate waiver to dispense certain nar- cotic drugs (e.g., buprenorphine) for maintenance or detoxification treatment. The bill also requires a national campaign to educate healthcare practitioners and encourage them to integrate substance use disorder treatment into their practices. • Medication Access and Train- ing Expansion (MATE) Act - HR2067/S2235: Requires health - care providers, as a condition of receiving or renewing a reg - istration to prescribe potentially addictive drugs, to complete a one-time training on managing patients with substance use disorders. It also in - cludes grants for health professional associations and education programs for integrating substance use disorder training into relevant curricula. • Medicaid Reentry Act - HR955/S285: Requires states to make Medicaid available for incarcerated individuals no less than 30 days prior to release. • Mental Health Access Improvement Act - HR432/S828: Extends Medicare coverage to ser - vices provided by marriage and family therapists and mental health counselors.