“County youth health report shows reduction in drug, alcohol use” is the headline to a story on The Columbian’s website.
Did you know that the Affordable Care Act of 2010 funded the expansion of Medicaid in our state, increasing funding for mental illness and substance use disorder treatments?
Being involved with treatment of mental illness and substance use disorders in Washington state, I am acutely aware of the increase in available treatments for low-income and impoverished people since the passage of the ACA.
The current GOP-sponsored House Bill, American Health Care Act (AHCA) will phase out this expansion by the year 2020, leaving 24 million low-income people without access to these treatments they now can obtain.
Contact your legislators, Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler and Sens. Patty Murray and Marie Cantwell, telling them to do everything possible to preserve this very important provision of the Affordable Care Act of 2010.
