July 28, 2023 – This week, the federal government announced a proposed rule change to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, intended to improve access to mental health services by addressing barriers to care – including cost of treatment and accessibility of services.
As community behavioral health providers, we understand that both mental and physical wellness are essential to the wellbeing of our communities, and we are actively working to remove inequities that leave many without a means to access behavioral health care. We’re grateful that the Biden-Harris Administration is joining in these efforts by taking an impactful step to strengthen parity across the mental health and physical health systems.
We’re also pleased to see President Biden’s recognition of the vital role that Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) play in helping providers keep pace with growing needs for mental health and substance abuse services. Fourfront Contributor is advocating for statewide adoption of the CCBHC model to ensure access to behavioral health care for everyone, address the workforce crisis, create a robust system for reporting outcomes, and much more.
We believe that adopting the CCBHC model statewide is absolutely essential to a sustainable community behavioral health system in Washington, and we’re heartened to see it continuing to lead in national conversations. Numerous other states have proven the effectiveness of CCBHC’s, and it’s time for Washington to modernize funding for community behavioral health care, too.
Read more about our advocacy for statewide adoption of the CCBHC model here.