Author: NCMHA

Medicaid Work Requirements and Behavioral Health Providers: Navigating Implementation Challenges and Protecting Client Access

Understanding CMS Rules, Medical Frailty Exemptions, and Advocacy Strategies Joel E. Miller, Treasurer and Past Chair, National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging ____________________________________________________________________________________ KEY PROVISIONS OF THE MEDICAID WORK REQUIREMENTS RULE ____________________________________________________________________________________ On June 1, 2026, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) issued an interim final rule implementing Medicaid work requirements (also […]

Behavioral Health Policy Trends for 2026: What It Means for Older Adults

Older Americans with mental health conditions face extraordinary policy turbulence characterized by substantial federal budget cuts, fundamental restructuring of key agencies, and widening state-by-state differences in behavioral health approaches. The landscape includes nearly $1 trillion in Medicaid reductions, the end of enhanced marketplace subsidies affecting millions of Americans, and a hollowed-out SAMHSA with half its […]

Federal Mental Health and Substance Use Policy Actions in 2025:What It Means for Older Adults

Over 61 million U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2024 (latest data available), with persistently high rates of depression, anxiety, suicide, gun violence, and drug overdose deaths. While the COVID-19 pandemic intensified existing mental health and substance use crises, access barriers remain significant—43% of insured adults with fair or poor mental health reported unmet needs […]

Understanding the “One Big Beautiful Bill”: How Major Policy Changes Affect Older Adults

Joel E. MillerPast ChairNational Coalition on Mental Health and Aging July 2025 Executive Summary: Health Provisions of HR 1 — The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) The “One Big Beautiful Bill Act” (OBBBA) makes significant changes to Medicaid, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), and other healthcare provisions, with a focus on cost containment, program […]

Advocacy Letter Template

The NCMHA Executive Committee has created this template advocacy letter that you are encouraged to use for communication with your federal elected officials. This letter focuses on proposed federal funding cuts and other changes to programs and services for older adults with mental health conditions. Please use this template letter to contact your elected officials in […]

Certainty in Uncertain Times

By Mike O’DonnellNCMHA Executive Committee Member In these uncertain times, I count on those things I am certain about: As a believer, I am certain that God is present in the world and in my life. As a husband and father, I know my family’s love and my love for them. As a volunteer with […]

Impact of Federal Medicaid Cuts on Health Coverage and State Mental Health and Aging Agencies

by Joel Miller Immediate Past Chair National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging March 27, 2025 Executive Summary Recently approved Congressional budget reconciliation resolutions propose sweeping cuts to entitlement programs across federal agencies. Most concerning is the $880 billion spending reduction mandate directed at the House Energy and Commerce Committee. According to Congressional Budget Office […]

NCMHA Comments AHRQ Ageism in Healthcare

The National Coalition on Mental Health and Aging (NCMHA) was pleased to comment on the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality’s Request for Information Regarding Ageism in Healthcare, published in the Federal Register on December 27, 2024. Please see here for our comments. Download the PDF

A Transformative Period for Behavioral Health Investments

by Joel E. Miller Past Chair and Current Board MemberNational Coalition on Mental Health and Aging Over the last four years, we have all endured the immediate impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic and the longer-term impacts of the virus on the health and mental health of individuals and lingering scars for those people and their […]