The National Impact   An update for friends of the National Advocacy Campaign for Smarter and More Effective Alcohol and Drug Policies October/November 2011   In This Issue Essential Health Benefit Package Updates Coalition for Whole Health Website, Now Live Coalition website Recommendations and Toolkits on ACA Implementation Comments on health insurance regulations Comments on Medicaid eligibility SAAS toolkit for advocates Looking Ahead Quick Links The Roadmap for Smarter and More Effective Alcohol and Drug Policies 2009 Benchmarks Opportunities and Threats Join the Campaign Now!         Welcome back to "The National Impact," our monthly e-newsletter to keep you updated on the campaign’s advocacy efforts! Many thanks to all the supporters who have made our successes possible.  Together, we can dramatically alter the national landscape so that fewer people suffer from alcohol and drug problems, the addicted receive the care they need, and people in recovery can live healthy and productive lives.    Essential Health Benefit Package Updates The Coalition for Whole Health, co-chaired by the Legal Action Center, continues to advocate for full inclusion of mental health and substance use disorder services within the Essential Health Benefits framework of the Affordable Care Act (ACA). This fall, we met with a number of Congress members and key policymakers at the Departments of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Justice and the National Institute on Drug Abuse to discuss our recommendations.  In addition, LAC staff was asked to participate in an invitation-only listening session for health care providers convened by senior HHS officials.  HHS is expected to release proposed regulations on the Essential Health Benefit package in the next few weeks.  In preparation, we are developing tools for state and local advocates and will continue our work to ensure the strongest possible coverage for substance use disorder and mental health services. Coalition for Whole Health Website, Now Live We're excited to announce the new Coalition for Whole Health website, now up at http://www.coalitionforwholehealth.org.  We hope to use it as a place to house tools and resources for our collective advocacy as activity in the Coalition's ACA state implementation working group ramps up.  To become a part of the Coalition's state implementation working group, please email Sherie Boyd at sboyd@lac.org.  We'll send updates as the website develops. Recommendations and Toolkits on ACA Implementation  LAC staff recently developed comments  on behalf of the Coalition for Whole Health to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) in response to: The proposed health insurance exchange regulations.  Our comments include recommendations on how to best meet the needs of people with substance use and mental health disorders.  To encourage organizations in the field to weigh in, LAC developed an action alert before submitting the Coalition’s comments. Proposed guidance on Medicaid eligibility. Continuing its work on ACA implementation at the state level, SAAS recently released a toolkit to help advocates grow their coalitions and reach out to essential policymakers as regulations and systems are designed. Looking Ahead We continue to help educate the field about implementation of the ACA through conferences and presentations around the country to state and national groups.  Recently, we presented at statewide and national conferences in Connecticut, Maine, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, and Utah. Our advocacy efforts are more needed now than ever, so stay tuned!   Join the Campaign!!   These advocacy efforts are just the beginning. As a friend of the substance use disorder field and as someone who believes in the power of advocacy and the reality of recovery, we know that you will find the National Advocacy Campaign for Smarter and More Effective Drug and Alcohol Policies as exciting as we do. In order to make the work of the campaign possible, please consider joining the effort to change alcohol and drug policies. Become a member by making a secure online contribution today (and select the National Advocacy Campaign from the drop-down box). Thank you for your support! Innovators Illinois Alcoholism & Drug Dependence Association • Jason R. Flom   Champions The Association of Substance Abuse Programs in Texas • Community Partnership of Southern Arizona • The Max and Victoria Dreyfus Foundation • Reckitt Benckiser Pharmaceutical    Founders Advocates for Human Potential, Inc. • Agency for Community Treatment Services, Inc. •  Association for Behavioral Healthcare of Massachusetts • Baltimore Behavioral Health • Bridges for America • Terry Brown • Charles Bush California Association of Addiction Recovery Resources • CARON-Comprehensive Addiction Treatment Recovery for Life • Randolph E. Cloud • Colorado Association of Alcohol & Drug Service Providers, Inc. • John Coppola • County Alcohol and Drug Program Administrators Association of California • DePaul Treatment Centers, Inc. • Richard J. Dillon • Drug and Alcohol Service Providers Organization of Pennsylvania • Florida Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association • Florida Certification Board • Debra Gilmour • Adam Harrington • Cynthia Humphrey • JBS International, Inc • Robert B. Levy • Maine  • Mississippi Association of Addiction Services  •  Richard J. Nance • National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence - Maryland • Nevada Alliance for Addictive Disorders Advocacy, Prevention and Treatment Service • Ohio Council of Behavioral Health and Family Services Providers • Operation PAR, Inc. • Oregon Prevention Education and Recovery Association • Proaction Behavioral Health Alliance • Michael F. Reagan • Rosecrance Substance Abuse Treatment Centers • Paul N. Samuels • Arthur J. Schut • Julie Shepard • Spectrum Programs, Inc/Miami Behavioral Health Center, Inc. • David Sterling • The Harbor Behavioral Health Care Institute • The Refuge, a Healing Place • TopLine Professional Strategies, LLC • Treatment Alternatives for Safe Communities of Illinois • Utah Behavioral Healthcare Network • Thomas Van Wagner • Becky Vaughn • Washington Association of Alcoholism and Addiction Programs   Friends BayCare Behavioral Health  •  Central Florida Behavioral Health Network  •  Drug Abuse Treatment Association  •  EPIC Community Services •  Franklin-Williamson Human Services, Inc. • Gateway Community Services  •  Patrick Maloy • Craig Peck • The South Suburban Council on Alcoholism and Substance Abuse • Sutton Place Behavioral Health  •  Parker Thomson  •  Tri-County Human Services  •  The Village South (Westcare)     Donors Herbert Barish McKyle Clyburn • Thomas M. Del Vecchio • George Demarest • The Janssen Foundation • Beth Lang • Bruce Lesman • Barrett L. Silver • John B. Trammell • Arthur Wallace Thank you for supporting the National Advocacy Campaign!