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Colorado advocates introduce bill to address workforce shortage
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
mental health weekly
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1556-7583
pISSN - 1058-1103
DOI - 10.1002/mhw.32713
Subject(s) - medicaid , mental health , workforce , peer support , telehealth , health care , medicine , nursing , psychology , business , political science , telemedicine , psychiatry , law
In the past two years, the number of Coloradans who didn't receive mental health or substance use care that they needed nearly doubled. Yet, in 2019, Colorado's behavioral health workforce only met 30% of the state's need, My Prime Time News reported Feb. 28. Mental Health Colorado, Rep. Rod Pelton (R) and Rep. Yadira Caraveo (D) just introduced House Bill 21‐1021 to significantly alleviate the workforce gap through peer support services. According to Mental Health Colorado, Medicaid only reimburses peer support services in a very limited range of settings, which limits the scope of peer support services in other settings such as OB/GYN clinics and emergency departments. “Peers are an essential component of Colorado's health care workforce and contribute to better outcomes for people with mental health and substance use conditions,” said Mental Health Colorado President and CEO Vincent Atchity. House Bill 21‐1021 would improve how peer support services are billed under Medicaid and clarify that peer support professionals can utilize telehealth in providing and billing for services, among other improvements to peer‐delivered services. Efforts to pass the bill are led by Mental Health Colorado, with support from the Colorado Children's Campaign, the Colorado Cross‐Disability Coalition, the Colorado Mental Wellness Network and the National Alliance on Mental Illness Colorado.