News

January 30, 2024 On January 29, 2024, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) is observing its 20th Annual Prevention Day, for which a national gathering was held at th...

January 22, 2024 The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) recently hosted a behavioral health stakeholder call during which a new behavioral health care model, Innovation in Behavioral Health (IBH), was announced. As stated in CMS' IBH fact sheet, "IBH aims to impro...

January 17, 2024 On Sunday, January 14, 2024, Congressional leaders announced that an agreement had been reached that would avert a partial government shutdown that was set to begin on January 19, 2024. Two months ago, on November 16, 2023, President Biden signed into law a two-tier...

January 16, 2024 Everyone in New Jersey's Diverse Community Is Worthy of Full Investment in the Behavioral Healthcare System According to a Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration November 2023 report, 48.7 million Americans (17.3%) aged 12 or older had a substan...

January 16, 2024 The United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) announced the launch of a new, online and user-friendly hub for partners to access critical Medicaid and Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) renewal and transition resources. This hub pulls toget...

January 12, 2024 Governor Phil Murphy signed S3604 into law as P.L.2023, c.221., which authorizes the use of healthcare platforms providing discounted prices for payment of prescription and non-prescription drugs, devices, and telehealth and telemedicine services. This law prohib...

January 9, 2024 Last week, January 5, 2024, Sarah Adelman, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Human Services (DHS), announced significant enhancements to the statewide emergency services programs aiding adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD). As s...

January 8, 2024 The United States Senate and House of Representatives are scheduled to return in full on January 9, 2024, after their holiday recess, leaving just 10 days from that point to pass legislation and prevent a government shutdown. On November 16, 2023, President Joe Biden...

January 4, 2024 On December 21, 2023, United States Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Xavier Becerra renewed the determination that an opioid public health emergency exists nationwide. The determination was reached "as a result of the continued consequences o...

January 3, 2024 Associated Press published an article on Dec. 28th with statistics on declining levels of wellness, both physical and mental, among employees and recommendations for employers. Some of the striking research findings presented in this article are: "50% of workers repo...

January 2, 2024 A bill that exempts certain nonprofits that offer social services from motor vehicle registration fees is scheduled for a vote at both the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee meeting on January 4, 2024 at 1:00 p.m. in the State House Annex, Committee Room 4, 1st...

December 28, 2023 The annual Open Enrollment Period for Get Covered New Jersey (GetCovered.nj.gov), the state's Official Health Insurance Marketplace, will end on December 31, 2023. New Jersey residents who do not have health coverage through employers or other programs, such as Med...

December 27, 2023 While the holiday season is a joyful time for many people, this is unfortunately not the case for other individuals, especially those who have friends and relatives in Ukraine, Israel and Gaza and, therefore, are worried about their safety or have lost loved ones dur...

December 27, 2023 On Thursday, December 21, 2023, the New Jersey Senate passed A5283, legislation that requires calculation of the national average time needed to approve applications for initial credentials in professions or occupations, and the use of that average time as the sta...

December 26, 2023 On Tuesday, December 19, 2023, the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first test that uses DNA to assess whether certain individuals may have an elevated risk of developing opioid use disorder (OUD), the AvertD test from AutoGenomics, Inc. ...