Improving Access to Mental Health and Addiction Services: Medicaid Expansion and Alternative Approaches – A Public Policy Forum

The Carter Center, in partnership with the Georgia Association of Community Service Boards, and the Georgia Association for Primary Health Care, hosted a nonpartisan public policy forum on the Affordable Care Act's impact on Georgia's efforts to improve and expand access to mental health and substance abuse services on Feb. 14, 2013.

With the Affordable Care Act becoming law, a new state budget proposal, and Governor Deal's decision not to expand Medicaid, many important policy decisions lie in the balance that affect the state's most vulnerable populations as well as the development of quality behavioral health services.

Who:

Key stakeholders of the Georgia behavioral health community provided remarks:

• Carter Center Mental Health Program Director Dr. Thomas Bornemann
• Commissioner of the Georgia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities Frank Berry
• President of Healthcare Georgia Foundation Gary Nelson
• Rosalynn Carter Chair in Mental Health at the Rollins School of Public Health Dr. Benjamin Druss

A panel discussion representing both sides of the aisle included:

• Cindy Zeldin, executive director of Georgians for a Healthy Future
• Tim Sweeney, director of Health Policy at the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute
• Ron Bachman, president and CEO of Healthcare Visions Inc.
• Frank Bonati, executive director, Gateway Behavioral Health