How the American Health Care Act Would Affect Mental-Health Coverage
The middle of an unprecedented nationwide opioid epidemic might seem like a strange time to slash public funding for substance abuse, but that’s exactly what Republicans intend to do.
The American Health Care Act, which passed the House in early May and will soon be debated in some form in the Senate, will mark a major shift in national policy for opioid treatment, as well as for mental health, behavioral health, and substance abuse across the board. And it would come just after the Affordable Care Act began to create the first semblance of a true national safety net for those health issues.
Medicaid is , and the Affordable Care Act’s expansion of the program to low-income adults was the first time there was some semblance of a national structure for treating mental health and substance abuse issues. Many people with severe substance abuse and mental-health issues also have low or no incomes , and before
