Faciltating ACA Enrollment of Individuals With Behavioral Health Conditions - A National Challenge

Background:  Background – Much concern has been expressed in the trade press and mass media about the nation’s readiness to enroll uninsured individuals in the ACA’s new health insurance options beginning October 2013.  Of the 40 million eligible individuals, almost 30 percent have behavioral health conditions making this a critical concern for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. 

Program background:  Program Background – Based on research conducted by Abt Associates in the summer of 2012, SAMHSA designed an enrollment strategy that utilizes coalitions of national organizations whose local affiliates/members interact with uninsured individuals with behavioral health conditions.  Five coalitions have been formed– Mental Health and Substance Abuse Providers, Criminal Justice Organizations, Community-based Prevention Organizations, Housing Support and Homeless Services Organizations, and Consumer, Family and Peer Recovery Organizations.  Under the direction of SAMHSA’s Offices of Policy, Planning and Innovation and Communications, Abt Associates is providing training and technical to these intermediary organizations to assist them in motivating and enrolling these individuals.  Working closely with CMS’ timeline and materials development schedule, it has actively engaged these national organizations in creating and disseminating targeted and customized outreach to their affiliates/members and providing enrollment assistance come October. Utilizing a combination of subject matter expertise and technology, Abt has developed a collaborative process to ensure effectiveness.  Each coalition is led by an Abt staff member with extensive experience and knowledge of its unique challenges.   Collaboration is fostered through virtual meetings using WebEx and constant interaction and feedback through Onehub, a sharing web site, specific to each coalition.  Interactive, self-paced e learning modules are developed with input of coalition members and disseminated to their local organizations to train staff in the field.

Evaluation Methods and Results:  Evaluation Methods and Results – An evaluation plan has been formulated to identify process measures and monitor involvement of coalition members and their affiliates in participation in meetings, trainings, discussions, materials utilization, collaboration, conferences and other activities.  Results will be available in late July.

Conclusions:  Conclusions – By working through and developing targeted materials and outreach strategies for national organizations and assisting in dissemination to the field, it is expected that their local affiliates/members will be successful in encouraging enrollment and providing assistance to individuals with behavioral health conditions to facilitate enrollment.

Implications for research and/or practice:  Implications for Research or Practice – Enlisting national organizations to mobilize their local affiliates/members can be useful in a variety of instances. In addition, increased understanding and effectiveness in utilizing the latest technology to facilitate collaboration may assist other agencies in adopting new practices.