The Alliance for Addiction & Mental Health Services, Maine (the Alliance) applauds the State of Maine’s Rural Health Transformation Program (RHTP) application submitted this week to CMS. Maine’s application provides an anticipated $500 million in funding to improve health access and outcomes across priority populations and focus areas, inclusive of behavioral health.The inclusion of meaningful initiatives and programs to support community-based behavioral health care across the state represents a tremendous opportunity to support care delivery and expand access to these essential services in Maine.
Access to mental health and substance use disorder (SUD) treatment services is a critically important issue in Maine, particularly in our rural communities and for our youth. In recent years, Maine has experienced unprecedented demand for services alongside growing challenges in developing and maintaining a workforce able to meet the full need. In the wake of significant cuts to Medicaid (MaineCare) from HR.1, such access barriers are expected to become even further exacerbated for the Mainers who rely on these services most.
Importantly, Maine’s application provides dedicated funding to enhance the full continuum of mental health and SUD treatment services. Initiatives include expanding opioid treatment programs (OTPs) in rural areas, mobile and tele-behavioral health services, school-based services for youth, and peer support programs. It helps create more access to Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) services and supports the implementation of Maine’s only Psychiatric Residential Treatment Facility (PRTF) — filling a critical gap in the system for Maine children and families.
Maine’s application also addresses growing concerns of providers serving rural communities with funding for uncompensated care and uninsured clients to ensure that Mainers and their families can continue to access the care they need. Lastly, it strengthens our rural workforce through recruitment, retention, and localized pipeline development efforts to bring new clinicians and healthcare workers to rural areas while creating career pathways and opportunities for Mainers to live, grow, and stay in their home communities.
The Alliance appreciates the Mills Administration and Maine DHHS’ thoughtful community-driven approach in developing its RHTP application and looks forward to future collaboration and member engagement opportunities through implementation and the RHTP Advisory Council.
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