Here’s How to Make Your Voice Heard

We have few greater responsibilities than increasing access to mental health and substance use treatment and care.

And we have few better ways to accomplish that goal than through Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs).

It's really that simple.

We’re making progress toward reaching the goal of increasing access to mental health and substance use treatment and care. There are now more than 500 CCBHCs operating across 47 states, Washington, D.C., Guam and Puerto Rico.

To help fuel that momentum, the National Council for Mental Wellbeing has published a first-of-its-kind resource that outlines how to leverage the CCBHC model to expand access to high-quality care. “CCBHCs: A Vision for the Future of Community Behavioral Health Care ” offers guidance for clinics, policymakers, payers, partner organizations and the private sector. It explains how we can achieve the transformation in access to mental health and substance use care that the nation began working toward on Oct. 31, 1963, when President Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act into law.

The resource provides ideas to help design programs and services, streamline operations to ensure same-day access and develop a workforce capable of meeting increased demand for services, promoting health equity and improving health care outcomes. It also includes recommendations to engage with CCBHCs to better inform policy solutions to reduce barriers to care and coordinate statewide efforts like implementing the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

Why now? CCBHCs are not uniformly available across the country. Today they exist in Medicaid in only 12 states. There is a federal grant program supporting hundreds of clinics in taking on the services and activities of a CCBHC, but those clinics don’t receive the sustainable funding needed to truly achieve the model’s promise or ensure its permanence.

Establishing rules to make the CCBHC model available through Medicaid in more states would change all that and dramatically expand access to mental health and substance use treatment and care at a time when demand for those services is greater than ever. In September, Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) introduced the Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act (S. 2993) . What would the Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act do?

·?????? Formally establish CCBHCs in federal law and create infrastructure to build upon the model’s current success.

·?????? Create ongoing technical assistance infrastructure to enhance new and existing CCBHCs.

·?????? Authorize new enhancement and improvement grants to support activities that strengthen the CCBHC workforce.

In short, the legislation will secure the future of the CCBHC model, which provides comprehensive outpatient behavioral health care to people regardless of where they live or their ability to pay, so we need to let Congress know how important it is to pass the bill . That’s not the only bill awaiting passage. As I mentioned during Hill Day on Oct. 18 , mental health and substance use challenges have never received more attention. But we can’t be complacent.

We encourage National Council members and organizations throughout the field to join together, speak up and urge Congress to support meaningful legislation. In addition to the Ensuring Excellence in Mental Health Act, we’re advocating on behalf of:

·?????? The Improving Access to Mental Health Act (H.R. 1638/S. 838) , which would increase the Medicare reimbursement rate for clinical social workers (CSW) from 75% to 85% of the physician fee schedule, aligning Medicare payments for CSWs with that of other non-physician providers and mitigating reimbursement inequity among behavioral health providers. This would give more Medicare beneficiaries access to high-quality care. This legislation would also ensure that CSWs can provide psychosocial services — as well as the full range of health and behavior assessment and intervention (HBAI) services within their scope of practice — to patients in skilled nursing facilities.

·?????? The Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act (H.R. 4933/S. 462) , which would reauthorize and expand the Substance Use Disorder Treatment and Recovery Loan Repayment Program (STAR LRP) to include mental health treatment providers through FY 2032 at increased funding levels. The Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) currently provides loan repayment assistance of up to $250,000 through the STAR LRP to individuals who agree to work within a mental health professional shortage area in the field of substance use disorder treatment.

·?????? The Support for Patients and Communities Reauthorization Act (H.R. 4531), the Due Process Continuity of Care Act (H.R. 3074/S. 971) and the Reentry Act (H.R. 2400/S. 1165) , which will help more people get the care they need, expand access to care for one of our nation’s most at-risk populations, and save lives.

·?????? The 9-8-8 Implementation Act of 2023 (H.R. 4851) and the Local 9-8-8 Response Act of 2023 (H.R. 4974) , which would provide federal funding and support for states to enact and expand crisis services.

People and communities have benefited greatly over the past two years from the attention paid to mental health and substance use challenges. Due in part to the National Council’s work, more resources are available to people seeking mental health and substance use treatment and care. Now we must take advantage of that attention so we can continue making progress to help people, communities and the organizations that provide treatment and care.

Make your voice heard so we can keep up the momentum we’ve worked so hard to build.

It's really that simple.