Dear Association Executives members – Below please find an update on CCHBC funding. Thank you – Chuck
Chuck Ingoglia
President & CEO
National Council for Behavioral Health
Direct: (202) 684-3749
From: Rebecca Farley David
Sent: Tuesday, December 17, 2019 1:50 PM
Subject: CCBHC demo extension, funding increase for grants
Dear CCBHCs:
Yesterday, Congress released draft legislative text of a deal to keep the government funded for the remainder of FY 2020. Packaged with the spending bill were a number of short-term health care program extenders, including an extension of the 8-state CCBHC demonstration for an additional five months, to May 22, 2020. The bill also provides a $50 million increase to SAMHSA's CCBHC Expansion Grants, bringing the total allocation for CCBHC grants to $200 million.
Government funding is currently slated to run out on Dec. 20. A vote on the spending bill has not yet occurred, but we expect it will pass this week to avert a shutdown. The latest extension and funding increase are yet another sign of growing Congressional support for CCBHCs, thanks to advocacy from across the nation!
Although we were disappointed to learn that a proposed 2-year extension and 11-state expansion of the program were not included, the latest deal is still an important sign of progress. There remains significant bipartisan support for a longer-term extension and expansion. It has been packaged with other health care program extensions, with the expectation that spending on these policies must be offset by cuts elsewhere. Unfortunately, Congress has not yet reached agreement on the offset, meaning that the whole package of extenders has been pushed to May to give negotiators time to work out a deal. We will stay in touch about additional opportunities for advocacy!
Meanwhile, as CCBHC Expansion Grantees enter into the final year of their grants, we are pleased to see funding for these grants increased. The National Council continues to advocate for current grantees' funding to continue beyond two years so that no CCBHC will experience a funding cliff.
CCBHCs have demonstrated great success so far, and the next five months will give us time to continue to bring data and success stories to the Hill to advance our cause.
As always, don't hesitate to let me know if you have any questions. Thank you for all that you are doing to build support for CCBHCs!
Rebecca
Rebecca Farley David
Senior Advisor, Public Policy & Special Initiatives
National Council for Behavioral Health
Direct: (202) 684-3735
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Neal Comstock
Director of Membership
National Council
NealC@TheNationalCouncil.org202 748-8793
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