2012 ATOD Program Now Online!
Dear APHA ATOD Members (and other interested in the ATOD field) --
We hope to see you soon in San Francisco at the Annual Meeting! This year's ATOD Scientific Program features cutting edge presentations of the latest research, policy and practice in our fields. We are also hosting a book signing event on Sunday afternoon (stop by to meet and greet our featured authors and support the Section), a screening of "Addiction Incorporated" on Saturday night, and our annual Awards Ceremony & Business Meeting on Tuesday evening. See details about these and other events by viewing our 2012 ATOD Program Brochure.
Look forward to see you soon,
ATOD Section Leadership
If you are interested in viewing past ATOD Program Brochures, then find the full list here.
Dear APHA ATOD Members--
On June 28, the Supreme Court announced its ruling upholding the Affordable Care Act—the Health Reform Bill. We were at the American Public Health Association Mid Year Meeting when the ruling was announced. Often misunderstood, the ACA expands health care to millions of Americans, enhances preventative care and prevention services, and reduces costs in our health care system by intervening earlier through better and more efficient care.
The ruling upholds these important elements of the legislation:
- Expanding coverage to millions of Americans who are uninsured or underinsured by requiring all Americans to be covered by health insurance and prohibiting insurance companies from denying care based on pre-existing conditions;
- Providing subsidies to lower-income persons to make insurance more affordable;
- Medicaid eligibility will increase to between 133% to 138% of the poverty level with the federal government picking up 100% of the cost in the early years;
- Enhanced prevention services to create healthier communities with a focus on population based prevention;
- Better coordination of care at all levels through enhanced communication, electronic medical records;
- Eliminating inefficiencies in the current health care system to bring overall costs down.
While some of the Medicaid implications are unclear as we write, the main elements of the ACA were upheld by the court. Millions of Americans can now be certain that they will be able to buy health insurance regardless of past health conditions or income, that our aging parents will receive better continuity of care starting with a wellness visit at age 65 and annually thereafter, that the poorest among us will have access to health care, and we will begin to eliminate inefficiencies in the system.
While the Supreme Court has ruled, opponents of the ACA are busy even as we speak, trying to undermine the law. Yesterday we had a victory, but the battle for health will continue. It is critical that we let our Members of Congress know how important this legislation is. Please, write to your Member of Congress today, with a quick note that says, “I support the Supreme Court decision to uphold the Affordable Care Act. Please protect the legislation—don’t repeal and maintain the prevention elements in the bill!” And be sure to include a Thank You to Senators or Representatives from your state who have been supportive of ACA.
Find your members of Congress and their contact info here.
We hope we can continue to provide you with updates and action alerts in the coming months—please become active in the effort to protect the ACA—let your elected officials know you support the law. The attacks have begun and we will not continue to maintain the ACA without vigorous support from us all!
Sincerely,
Linda Bosma, Chair Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Section, American Public Health Association
Annie Halland, Co-Chair Policy & Advocacy Committee, Minnesota Public Health Association
How will Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs be impacted by Health Reform (Affordable Care Act)?
By: Kathye Gorosh, CEO New Age Services; APHA ATOD Section Councilor; Coordinator of ATOD Health Reform Work Group
Note: Please visit our "Resources/Links" page to find out more information.
The passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) assures that mental health and substance use services for newly covered individuals are provided at parity and consistent with the 2008 passage of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA). Between 20 and 30 percent of the estimated 32 million more Americans covered by the ACA in 2014 will have a mental or substance use disorder. The parity legislation and health care reform will push an integration of services that currently is non-existent. The tangled web of addiction encompasses both licit and illicit drugs and therefore treatment, including tobacco cessation, needs to be comprehensive and not fragmented which includes alcohol, tobacco and “other drugs”.
This expansion is a tremendous opportunity to close the addiction treatment gap and ensure access to critically needed Substance Use and Mental Health services. Key areas of focus are/will be: Essential benefits; cost impact and containment, care management/disease management/integration, and workforce/treatment capacity.
Our ATOD Section now has a Health Reform Work Group so we can share links, key reports, and presentations as they are available since it can be overwhelming to keep up with all the changes if it's not the sole focus of your work. A lot of the focus is now on the States – yet another tangled web.
On behalf of our Work Group – we would like to be a resource for our ATOD members and share select information as it becomes available. We will be posting information over time on our APHA ATOD Website. The "Resources and Links" will house key documents and links for the Section.
We’d like to hear what your questions are on health reform and behavioral health as well as the type of answers you’d like to see. So, please check out (it’s easy to join if you’re not already on) our Facebook page to start a discussion, pose questions or provide some answers.
Opportunity to Give Your Time, Talent and Treasures
There are several ways to contribute to the ATOD section. Attend a business meeting or events, help recruit new members, or add the ATOD Section as your second affiliation when you renew your membership. We also hope that you agree that the work of the ATOD is important and worth supporting. Whether you can contribute $26 or $260, no donation is too small and every contribution helps us reach our overall fundraising goal to support Section activities and events. In fact, we could almost reach our fundraising goal if every Section member gave a tax-deductible donation* of $26!
To donate to our section:
Please download and use the form attached here. Our Enrichment Account Number (#328092) is already posted on the document – all you have to do is write out a check or credit card number and send it in the mail to APHA.
All contributors will be acknowledged during the meeting, at our events, and on any distributed materials including our program, unless the donor prefers to remain anonymous.
Thank you in advance for helping the ATOD Section - it is greatly appreciated!
Amber Bullocok
Fundraising Chair and Governing Councilor
APHA, ATOD Section
atodamber@gmail.com
*Donations to APHA are tax deductible (Tax ID number 13-1628688) and should be made to the ATOD Enrichment Account (#328092).
Top 10 Reasons to Join the ATOD Section
The ATOD Section Leaders welcome you to join us to learn more about how to participate in developing atod policies and to plan our annual program.
Click here for: “Top 10 Reasons to Join the ATOD Section”
Join the ATOD Section here. Add ATOD as a your primary or secondary section membership when renewing APHA membership.
We look forward to your participation as an ATOD member!