AHA Commends CMS Announcement on Expanded Mental Health Services

Tom Nickels

Executive Vice President

American Hospital Association

November 13, 2018

“America’s hospitals and health systems commend Secretary Azar’s announcement regarding CMS guidance that will offer additional flexibility for state Medicaid agencies and providers to work together to better care for people with serious mental health conditions. In 2016, approximately 10 million adults in the United States had a serious mental illness, but only 65 percent received mental health services in that year. The announcement outlined new and existing flexibility related to Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD); flexibility that will allow states to pay for short-term residential treatment services in an IMD. This guidance will lessen barriers to care for those in need of these services and increase access to quality behavioral health care.”

About the American Hospital Association
The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the improvement of health in their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks and other providers of care. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit https://www.aha.org. 

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Contact:         

Marie Johnson, (202) 626-2351 mjohnson@aha.org

Arika Trim, (202) 626-2319 atrim@aha.org