-
Governor Hochul Announces Launch of New 10-Year Statewide Effort to Assess Gambling Addiction and Behaviors in New York State
Decade-long Gambling, Health and Recreational Behaviors Study Includes Surveys and Interviews of New Yorkers Across the State Survey Effort Is One of Governor’s State of the State Initiatives and Will Inform Future Support and Services On April 29, 2026, Governor Kathy Hochul...
-
Peer Services in Behavioral Health: New York State Leading the Way
Individuals with lived experience with mental illness have a unique perspective that can play a crucial role in helping others on the path to recovery. A key facet of reaching and forming bonds with individuals seeking support is the strong connection peer support workers offer. We have made...
-
Strengthening Behavioral Health Through Peer Services: Advancing Recovery Across the Continuum of Care
Recovery from addiction is often strengthened through connection with others who have lived experience. Across New York State, peer professionals - individuals with lived recovery experience - are playing an increasingly important role in behavioral health services. Through strategic policy...
-
New York State Must Intervene in the Behavioral Health Crisis
New York State is in the middle of a behavioral health crisis. Suicide rates are up over 40% in the last 20 years. Overdose rates are almost four times higher than they were in 2010. During this crisis, Medicaid Managed Care Organizations (MCOs) paid by the State are taking hundreds of millions of...
-
NY State Governor Hochul Receives National Award for Outstanding Leadership in Mental Health Policy
Mental Health America’s 2026 Governor’s Leadership Award Cites Administration’s ‘Significant and Sustained Investments’ in Mental Health Governor Hochul has Channeled Approximately $2 Billion into Expanding Access; Strengthening New York State’s Continuum of Care Governor...
-
Governor Hochul Announces Groundbreaking Medicaid 1115 Waiver Amendment to Enhance New York State’s Health Care System
$7.5 Billion Waiver Will Enable New York to Invest Nearly $6 Billion of Federal Funding into State’s Health Care System Over the Next Three Years Waiver Amendment to Improve Health Equity and Address Health Disparities Throughout State Waiver Will Deliver Critical Support to Address...
-
Opioid Settlement Funds an Opportunity to Strengthen Services
The tragic loss of life and the impact of addiction on families and communities has been escalating in New York State annually almost every year for well over a decade. New York State’s response has been inadequate and lives have been lost as a consequence. Because of a strong federal...
-
New York Vulnerable: A Look at the Governor’s New Mental Health Plan
Gov. Hochul’s new mental health initiative proves that there’s strength in acknowledging vulnerability - but one area of oversight is cause for concern. New York’s last governor may have adopted the motto “New York tough,” but current Governor Kathy Hochul’s new mental health...
-
The NYSPA Report – Insurance Circular Letter No. 1 (2023): A New Tool in the Fight Against Stigma
In 2022, the United States Departments of Labor, Treasury and Health and Human Services issued a joint report entitled “2022 MHPAEA Report to Congress - Realizing Parity, Reducing Stigma, and Raising Awareness: Increasing Access to Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Coverage.” The Report...
-
Mental Health Parity in New York – How It Started, How It’s Going
Picnics and Pizza The fight for mental health parity - equal coverage and reimbursement by health insurers of mental illnesses and conditions - has been long and challenging. In the 1990s, the National Picnic for Parity became a grassroots movement in support of parity. The group hosted spirited...
