Association Executive Directors Community

Good morning Association Executives - Last night, President-Elect Biden unveiled his proposal for the next round of COVID relief and stimulus, named the American Rescue Plan. The $1.9 trillion plan mirrors that of previous relief and stimulus packages, targeting health care and vaccine roll out, aid to schools, the economy and to families. Attached is a detailed summary of the proposed plan.

Of most importance to behavioral health care providers, the plan includes the follow provisions:

• Expanding access to behavioral health services. The pandemic has made access to mental health and substance use disorder services more essential than ever. The president-elect is calling on Congress to appropriate $4 billion to enable the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and the Health Resources and Services Administration to expand access to these vital services.

• Preserving and expanding health coverage. Roughly two to three million people lost employer sponsored health insurance between March and September, and even families who have maintained coverage may struggle to pay premiums and afford care. Further, going into this crisis, 30 million people were without coverage, limiting their access to the health care system in the middle of a pandemic. To ensure access to health coverage, President-elect Biden is calling on Congress to subsidize continuation health coverage (COBRA) through the end of September. He is also asking Congress to expand and increase the value of the Premium Tax Credit to lower or eliminate health insurance premiums and ensure enrollees - including those who never had coverage through their jobs - will not pay more than 8.5 percent of their income for coverage. Together, these policies would reduce premiums for more than ten million people and reduce the ranks of the uninsured by millions more.

Please let us know if you have any questions.

Thanks,

Michael

Michael Petruzzelli
Director, Federal Policy and Advocacy
National Council for Behavioral Health
Direct: (202) 774-1660
Email: MichaelP@TheNationalCouncil.org

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Neal Comstock
Director of Membership
National Council
NealC@TheNationalCouncil.org
202 748-8793
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