With the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, the percentage of Black Americans who lack medical insurance has fallen significantly with the percentage of Black Americans who were uninsured decreasing by 8 percentage points from 2011 to 2019. Unfortunately, when compared to White populations, percentages of Black Americans uninsured are still comparatively high. Further, this
On Tuesday, February 15th, 2022, the full Senate Finance Committee held a hearing on “Protecting Youth Mental Health: Part II- Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Care,” which continued the conversation and efforts of Congress to address the growing mental health crisis. CWLA previously reported on part one of this series. The witnesses called to testify
On Thursday, February 17th, the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations of the Committee on Energy and Commerce held an investigative hearing on ‘Americans in Need: Responding to the National Mental Health Crisis.’ The Energy and Commerce Committee has jurisdiction over Medicaid, making it a key committee in any significant effort to enact behavioral health
On Thursday, February 17, 2022, after some delaying tactics by a few Senators, the Senate did give final approval to a new CR that extends funding until March 11, 2022. The hope is that March 11, deadline will allow completion of the 12 FY 2022 appropriations bills. The appropriations leadership has been very tight-lipped on
On Thursday February 10, 2022, the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) held a subcommittee hearing on Recruiting, Revitalizing, and Diversifying: Examining the Health Care Workforce Shortage. Witnesses were: Dr. Margaret Flinter, Senior Vice President and Clinical Director, Community Health Center, Inc., Middletown, CT who focused on the loss of primary
Last week the House of Representatives approved a fourth continuing resolution (CR) with the hope that it will allow a deal and eventual enactment of 12 appropriations for the fiscal year that started on October 1, 2021. Not long after the House action, the top four appropriators announced an agreement that will allow appropriators to
Last Tuesday and Wednesday two key congressional committees began a set of bipartisan discussions on the challenges of access to mental health and substance use services. On Tuesday the Senate HELP Committee held their first hearings and on Wednesday the House Ways and Means Committee focused hearings on the behavioral health challenges. The subject and
On Tuesday, February 1, 2022, the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor & Pensions held a hearing entitled “Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders: Responding to the Growing Crisis.” Chairwoman Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) highlighted that millions of people across the country face mental health disorders, while 130 million Americans live in areas with
On Wednesday, February 2nd, the House Ways and Means Committee held a hearing on "America's Mental Health Crisis." The full 42-member Committee heard testimony from: Dr. Wizdom Powell (Director of the Health Disparities Institute and Associate Professor of Psychiatry) focused on four main points, youth as a target population in the mental health crisis, the
On Monday, January 24, 2022, the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) updated their live sight designed to help families get the remaining part of their 2021 CTC. There are two important live tabs: the Get Your Child Tax Credit and Check Your Eligibility. The CTC has been federal law since the mid-1990s, but last year’s expansion
