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Dear Partners, 

Congress is working on a tight timeline to finalize its version of the American Rescue Act—the next COVID-19 relief bill—before it comes up for a vote in both the House and Senate in the coming weeks. We have a short window to make significant progress through this legislation on health care issues that matter to people with substance use disorders and/or mental illness, who have greater risk of COVID-19 and still face many barriers to care.  

What you can do: 
Contact your Members of Congress today to make sure they prioritize health and economic stability for people with substance use disorders and/or mental illness in the American Rescue Act. Newly proposed language would make private health insurance more affordable and close the Medicaid coverage gap, ensuring millions more people get access to a broad range of health care, including treatment for addiction and mental illness. The legislation would also dedicate billions of dollars to expand services for substance use disorders services, enhance the peer workforce and enable qualifying incarcerated individuals to access Medicaid 30 days prior to their release to increase continuity of care. It would also help address some of the disparities in access to services for people with low incomes and people of color. We must ensure these improvements remain in the final legislation!  

Here are some resources to help you make the case to your legislators: 

We won’t get another chance like this until next fall. With strong advocacy, we can ensure that members of Congress take this opportunity to prioritize health and make real, long-term change in our communities. 

Thank you for your advocacy, 

Community Catalyst’s Substance Use Disorders Team 

About Community Catalyst:
Community Catalyst works to ensure consumer interests are represented wherever important decisions about health and the health system are made: in communities, courtrooms, statehouses and on Capitol Hill.
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