Report on the affordable care act on the eve of implementation

The 2013 APHA Annual Meeting will coincide with the initial months of implementing the Affordable Care Act. Enrollment systems will be operational for all states around the Affordable Insurance Exchanges, whether operated by a state or by HHS, and for a subset of states around the optional Medicaid Expansion. In every instance, enrollment will be to a specific insurance plan governed by an Essential Health Benefit defined by each state, which must include a mental health and substance use benefit at parity. This presentation will assess this initial implementation of the ACA from the perspective of the mental health and substance use services fields and update information presented in the 2012 APHA Annual Meeting. Specific attention will be paid to the transformative role of the ACA on the mental health and substance use fields, as well as actions that are required now to prepare for this transformation. Areas to be considered include population health, prevention and promotion, care integration, and accountable service delivery.