MHA's Blog: Chiming In

Mental Health America will host a briefing by policy experts on critical mental health issues and their relationship to the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) on Thursday, March 7, at the National Press Club in Washington, DC, from 9:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.

Mary Agnes Carey of Kaiser Health News will moderate a distinguished panel, which includes representatives of Mental Health America’s Regional Policy Council (RPC), a network of affiliate leaders who monitor and advocate for ACA implementation efforts in the states.

The expansion of Medicaid under the ACA and the inclusion of mental health and substance use disorder services in the new state exchanges created under the law can do much to improve access to care. But how these steps are implemented in the states will determine the extent to which individuals can obtain those services.

The panel and their topics:

Mary Agnes Carey:  Kaiser Health News—Moderator

Joan Alker: Co-Executive Director, Georgetown Center for Children and Families—Medicaid Expansion

Reggie Williams: Vice President, Avalere Health—Health Exchanges

Moe Keller: Vice President of Public Policy & Strategic Initiatives, Mental Health America of Colorado, former Colorado state senator—Benchmark Plans and Essential Health Benefits

Glenn Liebman: CEO of the Mental Health Association in New York State—Enrollment

Peter Ashenden: Director of Consumer Affairs, OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions—Peer Services

Harvey Rosenthal: Executive Director of the New York Association of Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services Inc.—Medicaid Managed Care

Debbie Plotnick: Senior Director of State Policy, Mental Health America—Next Steps