Policy & Advocacy

Policy & Advocacy

The "bread and butter" of The Coalition is analysis and advocacy of public policy in the fields of community mental health and chemical dependence.

We evaluate state, city and federal budgets, regulations and proposed legislation; promote laws and policies that nourish and sustain community based providers, affording them the ability to deliver the highest quality care and service to residents of New York City and State.

The Coalition strives to make important contributions to the public policy debate that will improve access and delivery of care and end stigma and prejudice against people with mental illness and chemical dependencies.

Coalition 2014 Albany Advocacy - Legislative Talking Points
March 11, 2014
Coalition staff and members spent the day visiting state legislators and voicing support for budget items related to preparation for the managed care carve-i; expanding community-based services; shoring up linkages and support for health homes; enhancing and developing supportive housing; funding to address NY's prescription drug and heroin epidemic and the MRT waiver implementation. The group also pressed for increasing base clinic rates and addition funding for OMH rental stipends.

• Coalition 2014 Albany Day - Legislative Talking Points
• Clinic Rate Increase and Parity

Children in Health Homes

Coalition Comments on Children's Health Homes to the Children's Health Home Workgroup
February 27, 2014
The Coalition is committed to ensuring that health homes have the expertise and experience working with children and families and are able to meet all of their needs. The Coalition solicited feedback from our members on the three elements of a health home model. The three elements are: Health Home Network Requirements, Approach to Delivery of Six Core Care Management Requirements, Health Home Eligibility Criteria/ Requirements. Our comments on these points are in the 5 page paper along with additional comments.

• Coalition Comments to the State’s Children’s Health Home Workgroup

Coalition Comments to the Office of Health Insurance Programs, DOH On Admission of Children to Health Homes
March 17, 2014
In previous comments The Coalition strenuously argued that diagnosis alone should not be the eligibility criteria for children. However CMS requires eligibility for health homes to be condition based, not population-based, so these comments include Coalition suggestions for eligibility.

• Coalition Comments to the Office of Health Insurance Programs, DOH On Admission of Children to Health Homes

Behavioral Health Moves to Managed Care: The Coalition’s View
June 2013

A product of The Coalition’s ad hoc “think tank” and its Board of Directors, Behavioral Health Moves to Managed Care: The Coalition’s View represents our latest thinking on the complex issues that underlie the significant and speedy transformation of our sector to integrated and managed care.

• Behavioral Health Moves to Managed Care: The Coalition’s View
• Executive Summary

Coalition Receives NCCBH 2008 Grassroots Advocacy Award

The Coalition received the 2008 Grassroots Advocacy Award from the National Council of Behavioral Healthcare at its 38th annual conference in Boston on May 2, 2008, for its work on Article 31 clinic rate methodology reform.

• Reform and Restructuring of Article 31 Clinic Reimbursement Methodology