APA Releases Overview on Impact of Senate Health Bill on Psychiatry

Within a matter of days, the Senate could vote on the Better Care Reconciliation Act (BCRA) —the bill unveiledlast week by Senate Republicans to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act (ACA) and make significant changes to the Medicaid program. Tucked within the142-page discussion draft of BCRA are numerous provisions likely to affect Americans with mental health and substance use disorders. APA ’s Government Relations team has created athree-page fact sheet summarizing how BCRA might affect access to and the delivery of mental health and substance use disorder treatment services. As described in more detail in the fact sheet, BCRA would cap federal funding for state Medicaid programs on a per-beneficiary basis, phase out the Medicaid expansion made available to states under the ACA, and add administrative costs and burdens to Medicaid. BCRA would also allow states to waive the federal requirements that plans carry certain essential health benefits (EHB) —a change the fact sheet notes “could affect large employer plans, which are only prohibited from imposing annual and lifetime limits on EHB and only required to cap out-of-pocket expenditures for EHB.”“Eliminating requirements for coverage of key benefits, including mental health and substance use disorders and other patient protections that are part of the Affordable Care Act, will have detrimental impacts for millions,” said APA President-Elect Altha Stewart, M.D., in apress release issued by APA...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ACA Affordable Care Act American Health Care Act BCRA Better Care Reconciliation Act CBO House of Representatives Medicaid mental health Senate substance use disorder Source Type: research