Diverse Workforce
Historically marginalized communities face persistent challenges when seeking mental health and substance use care, including language barriers, implicit bias, and lack of cultural competency. Creating a more diverse provider workforce is essential to ensuring equitable access and higher quality of care for all.
Browse the Featured Recommendations
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.
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Develop culturally competent guidelines for providers
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) should develop culturally competent guidelines for mental health and substance use service providers[1], particularly those serving predominantly underserved communities—particularly Black/African American; Hispanic/Latino; Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander; American Indian and Alaska Native; lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex(LGBTQI+) communities[2][3]—through inclusive and responsive community engagement.
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Ensure hospital compliance with EMTALA
The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should issue guidance to hospitals on their obligations under the Emergency Medical Treatment & Labor Act (EMTALA) to stabilize and treat individuals with a substance use disorder (SUD), and Congress should provide financial resources to incentivize hospitals to hire appropriate staff for their emergency departments[1]
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Provide technical assistance for care integration
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) should provide technical assistance to provider practices for integrating behavioral health and primary care services. Congress should fund the Primary Care Extension Program (PCEP) at $110 million over ten years, and establish grant funding for technical assistance for the implementation and ongoing delivery of integrated care.[1]
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Establish a national consultation line
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) should create a national consultation line for primary care providers to obtain real-time support from mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) professionals modeled after the Health Resource and Services Administration’s National HIV/AIDS Clinical Consultation Center.
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Require adoption of CLAS standards
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) should require organizations receiving federal funds, including states and local units of government, to adopt HHS’s Office of Mental Health’s (OMH) Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services (CLAS) standards in health and health care settings.[1]