The Alignment for Progress:
A National Strategy for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders
A dynamic resource for federal policymakers that lays the groundwork for a community system of care and defines a shared path forward toward better mental health and substance use care for all.
Why Do We Need a National Strategy for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders?
The United States is experiencing an unprecedented mental health and substance use crisis. The evidence is clear: the current system of mental health and substance use care is not working. And it’s costing the country more in lost productivity, downstream medical costs, and shortened lives than better care will cost.
Open a newspaper, watch television, or spend time on social media: concern about mental health and substance use is on people’s minds. That’s why it’s time for a meaningful national conversation about these issues. And more: it’s time to remove the barriers to equitable and available coverage for these conditions so people can get the help they need. Because we know the barriers are a lack of aligned action, not a lack of need.
people have died from overdoses in the U.S. in 2021.
of high school students have seriously considered suicide in the U.S. in 2021.
The Alignment for Progress Areas of Focus
Based on a robust data collection effort, including consultations with partners, surveys, and reviews of existing policy recommendations from stakeholders across the MH/SUD space, The Kennedy Forum (TKF) grouped recommendations into high-level categories.
Featured Strategy Recommendations
These featured recommendations are highlighted based on their importance in beginning the national movement towards better care for everyone.
Evaluate mobile health product effectiveness
Congress should designate a regulatory agency to evaluate mobile health product effectiveness in real-world settings.[1]
Topics
Improve Medicare coverage of peer support specialists
Congress should improve Medicare coverage of peer support specialists by allowing them to bill in a variety of settings where they are most often employed.
Topics
Apply the federal Parity Law to all health coverage
The Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) should apply to all health coverage in the United States. Existing major gaps in MHPAEA’s protections include Medicare Fee-for-Service, Medicare Advantage, Medicaid Fee-for-Service, TRICARE, and the Indian Health Service (IHS).[1][2][3] Additionally, the federal government should strengthen MHPAEA’s existing protections by finalizing its proposed rule released in July 2023.
Topics
Make mobile crisis services mandatory under Medicaid
Congress should make mobile crisis services mandatory under Medicaid. At a minimum, these services should be made a permanent state option available to states eligible for enhanced federal Medicaid match funding.[1]
Topics
Fund the community schoolyards project
Congress should establish federal funding for the Community Schoolyards project through the National Park Service’s (NPS) Outdoor Recreation Legacy Partnership (ORLP) to renovate asphalt schoolyards into schoolyard parks by providing grants to school districts, city parks, and water departments to fund renovations with oversight from federal agencies.
Topics
Extend Medicaid coverage to 12 months postpartum
Congress should require states to extend Medicaid coverage for 12 months postpartum.
