How the AHCA would affect addiction treatment

Kelly Gooch -

The GOP's American Health Care Act would remove a mandate affecting addiction treatment in the U.S., The Washington Post reports.

Here are four things to know.

1. Under the AHCA, Medicaid would no longer have to cover basic mental health and addiction services in Medicaid expansion states as of Jan. 1, 2020, according to the report. This has been a requirement under the ACA. However, the AHCA would leave the decision up to states.

2. The ACA's addiction treatment mandate covers nearly 1.3 million Americans in Medicaid expansion states, according to The Washington Post, which cites an estimate by healthcare economists Richard G. Frank of the Harvard Medical School in Boston and Sherry Glied of New York University.

3. GOP lawmakers on the House Energy and Commerce Committee contend removing the mandate would grant states more options in coverage decisions, and believe the states would still offer addiction and behavioral health services coverage to Medicaid beneficiaries when needed, according to the report.

4. The proposal has garnered pushback from some GOP Senators. This group has argued the plan falls short of providing stability to individuals and families covered under Medicaid expansion, according to the report.

For more on this story, read the full report in The Washington Post.

 

 

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