Rockville, MD – Today the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM) commended President Biden for signing the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law.  The American Rescue Plan Act contains several important provisions that will expand Americans’ access to addiction prevention, treatment, harm reduction and recovery support services and increase addiction workforce training.

Specifically, this legislation will support the delivery of addiction care by providing:

• $1,500,000,000 in block grant funding for prevention and treatment of substance use disorders;
• $80,000,000 in funding for behavioral health training for healthcare professionals and public safety officers;
• $20,000,000 in funding for an education campaign encouraging healthy work conditions and use of behavioral health services by healthcare professionals;
• $40,000,000 in funding for grants to promote behavioral health among the healthcare professional workforce;
• $30,000,000 in community-based funding for substance use disorder services like syringe services programs and other harm reduction interventions;
• $50,000,000 in community-based funding for behavioral health needs;
• $10,000,000 in funding for the National Child Traumatic Stress Network;
• $30,000,000 in funding for SAMHSA’s Project AWARE (Advancing Wellness and Resilience in Education), to address mental health issues among school-aged youth;
• $20,000,000 in funding for youth suicide prevention;
• $100,000,000 in funding for behavioral health workforce education and training;
• $80,000,000 in funding for pediatric mental health care access grants;
• $420,000,000 in funding for expansion grants for certified community behavioral health clinics; and
• $8.5 billion for the Provider Relief Fund for healthcare providers serving rural communities.

Importantly, this legislation also expands premium assistance under the Affordable Care Act and significantly increases Medicaid funding.

A section-by-section summary can be viewed here.

Sources:  ONDCP; American Rescue Plan Act

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