With over three million Texan adults experiencing a mental health condition, the state is continuing to identify ways to strengthen access to care. Experts in the field discussed how their organizations are contributing to the continuum at the 2024 Texas State of Reform Health Policy Conference last month. Greg Hansch, executive director of National Alliance … Read more
Alaska lawmakers held a meeting last week to review legislation that would increase behavioral healthcare parity for Medicaid-covered services. House Concurrent Resolution 9 and House Bill 361, both sponsored by Rep. Mike Prax (R-North Pole), seek parity in coverage of benefits for Medicaid mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatments in Alaska. Riley Nye, … Read more
Senators discussed mental health and substance abuse challenges during a joint meeting between the Select Committee on Mental Health and Addiction and the Select Committee on California’s Mental Health last week. They noted that making progress on addressing these issues cannot be done without a strong healthcare workforce. Dr. Janet Coffman, co-associate director at the … Read more
A bill that would create the Utah Behavioral Health Commission has passed the Senate and was favorably recommended by the House Health and Human Services Committee on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the bill was returned to the House Rules Committee due to its fiscal impact. The current fiscal note for Senate Bill 27, sponsored by Sen. … Read more
At the 2023 Minnesota State of Reform Health Policy Conference, leaders in the behavioral health space met to discuss the importance of early intervention to address behavioral health conditions in children. Due to their rapid growth and development, children respond to and process traumatic events and emotional experiences in different ways than adults, which can … Read more
Lawmakers and physicians met during the first Tennessee Senate Health and Welfare Committee of the year on Wednesday, where they discussed integrating behavioral health with physical health to improve the state’s national health rank. Committee Chair Sen. Rusty Crowe (R-Johnson City) began the discussion by noting that Tennessee ranked 44th in overall health in America’s … Read more
The Illinois Department of Public Health (IDPH) recently released its State Health Assessment (SHA) and State Health Improvement Plan (SHIP) as required by law, which combine to form the Healthy Illinois 2028 initiative. IDPH used the SHA to evaluate the program’s overall issues and successes after the completion of Healthy Illinois 2021. The SHA influenced … Read more
The Maryland Behavioral Health Care Treatment and Access Commission held its first-ever meeting last month to discuss report findings and next steps. Under House Bill 1148, which passed in the Maryland Legislature earlier this year, the commission is required to create four workgroups: one for geriatric behavioral health, one for youth behavioral health and the … Read more
Behavioral health leaders met at the 2023 Tennessee State of Reform Conference last month to discuss strategies for strengthening the state’s behavioral health system and ensuring adequate access to these critical services. Wendy Farmer, regional vice president of the National Crisis Center of Excellence at Carelon Behavioral Health, opened the panel with a story about … Read more
At the 2023 Southern California State of Reform Health Policy Conference, health plan and nonprofit leaders discussed barriers to behavioral healthcare access, as well as factors that have led to positive changes, with a specific focus on children and youth in the state. Lucy Marrero, director of behavioral health and social programs at Gold Coast … Read more