The Affordable Care Act provides the opportunity to expand Medicaid to cover many more uninsured adults, including individuals with mental illness and substance abuse disorders. This report form the National Council for Community Behavioral Helath Care urges states to adopt robust enrollment strategies in order to cover as many individuals as possible.

From the report:

National health reform includes a significant expansion of Medicaid in order to "cover millions more low-income, uninsured individuals – primarily, working-age adults who have no previous experience in the program." As illustrated by Figure 1, the large decrease in the uninsured will be in part due to the significant Medicaid expansion and creation of the state insurance exchanges. Data demonstrates that uninsured individuals have high rates of mental illnesses and substance use disorders. As indicated by the Kaiser Commission on Medicaid and the Uninsured, "easy enrollment and renewal processes are fundamental to achieving robust participation in Medicaid." The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare urges states to take action now, in order to assist new Medicaid beneficiaries including those individuals with mental illnesses and substance use disorders to take advantage of new coverage opportunities.

Full Report: Health Reform and the Insurance Expansion: Does your State Have an Enrollment Strategy? (PDF | 125 KB)

National Council for Community Behavioral Health Care. (2010). Health reform and the insurance expansion: does your state have an enrollment strategy?.