Online Program

Oral

The changing landscape of health insurance coverage and the expansion of behavioral health care equity as components of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) and the Affordable Care Act (ACA) are intensifying the need for policy makers, treatment providers, and health administrators to evaluate the current state of the substance abuse and mental health treatment delivery systems and structures. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) mission is to improve the behavioral health of the nation and three components specific to improving the nation’s mental health include 1) access to mental health care, 2) understanding the mental health workforce capacity and 3) where agency grant money is being spent. This session will identify geographic areas (e.g., census tract, metropolitan statistical areas) where the ability to access a mental health facility to obtain services may be a function of distance, travel time, insurance coverage or other social determinants of health. The supply/availability of the mental health treatment workforce should match the demand, and need, for these services taking into account levels of accessibility and types of payer provisions. However, there may be geographic areas where there are not enough treatment providers available to provide care to those in need of services. Finally, by examining the current distribution of grant dollars across geographic areas and communities with high levels of need, communities receiving limited grant dollars can be identified. Understanding the distribution of grant dollars, community variations in need and access to mental health facilities along with workforce capacity will help policy makers target grants and other funding mechanisms to those communities that are most in need. By examining each of these components of the mental health treatment system, this session will review the work that is currently being conducted by SAMSHA to identify access to mental health facility issues, mental health workforce capacity issues and funding dynamics from the community to the national level.

Session Objectives: 1. Explain the relationship between mental illness prevalence and grant distribution. 2. Describe the distribution of specialty mental health treatment facilities across setting type, ownership, and facility type in the U.S. 3. Discuss the mental health funding being provided by SAMSHA at a state and regional level

CE Credits: Medical (CME), Health Education (CHES), Nursing (CNE), Public Health (CPH) , Masters Certified Health Education Specialist (MCHES)