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The Senate Republican health care overhaul bill would strip 23 million people of their health insurance coverage and cap the Medicaid program—cutting over $880 billion from the program, which is the largest provider of behavioral health services for psychiatric patients. It would also end the guaranteed inclusion of mental health and substance use disorder treatment services in the list of Essential Health Benefits covered under current law.
Members are encouraged to contact their senators by phone, Twitter, or Facebook. A dedicated page on APA’s website will help members make contact with their Senators through these avenues.
In an all-member email delivered last evening, APA CEO and Medical Director Saul Levin, M.D., M.P.A., urged members to act. “Mental health and substance use treatment is a bipartisan issue,” Levin wrote. “Over the years, APA has worked with both sides of the aisle to achieve passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act in 2008, its expansion to cover mental health and substance use disorders as part of the Affordable Care Act in 2010, and the 21st Century Cures Act in 2016.”
Senate offices track phone messages and respond to social media. “Your calls and action do count,” Levin said. “We ask that you voice opposition to any bill that would negatively impact patients, and we appreciate your standing with us to do what is right for our patients.”
For more information, see the Psychiatric News article “CBO Says Millions of People Could Lose Coverage Under AHCA.”
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