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July 1, 2024 On June 27, 2024, the United States Supreme Court issued a ruling blocking a bankruptcy reorganization plan of Purdue Pharma, meaning that there is now uncertainty around billions of dollars of settlement money that had previously been secured for victims of the opioid cr...

June 27, 2024 On Monday, June 17, 2024, New Jersey's Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Children and Families (DCF), and Higher Education Student Assistance Authority (HESAA) formally announced the Home- and Community-Based Services Loan Redemption Program (HCBSP-LRP), ...

June 13, 2024 The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is accepting feedback on a notice of proposed rulemaking regarding the implementation of the National Suicide Hotline Act of 2018. Currently, when an individual calls the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, they are connected ...

May 30, 2024 The Council of State Governments (CSG), in partnership with the United States Department of Defense (DOD) and the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB), is working to support the mobility of licensed social workers ...

May 28, 2024 On Monday, May 20th, the New Jersey Senate passed the Crisis Professionals Day Resolution. The Resolution, originally drafted and requested by NJAMHAA, was passed by the Assembly in April. The Resolution recognizes the fourth Wednesday in May of each year as Crisis Pr...

May 21, 2024 On May 9, 2024, United States Senator John Fetterman (D-PA) introduced S.4312, "a bill to establish a United States Senate Commission on Mental Health for the purpose of providing to Congress and the President independent, expert policy recommendations to improve acces...

May 14, 2024 A new study funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH's) National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that there were 115,562,603 pills containing fentanyl seized by law enforcement in 2023, which is 2,30...

May 9, 2024 This week, May 5 - 11, 2024 is Children's Mental Health Awareness Week within Mental Health Awareness Month, and tomorrow, May 9, 2024, is Children's Mental Health Day. Children and young people in this country are experiencing an unprecedented mental health crisis: Ther...

May 7, 2024 A new report from FAIR Health, Trends in Mental Health Conditions: An Analysis of Private Healthcare Claims, which analyzed more than 46 billion healthcare claim records from 2019 to 2023, found that over that time, the percentage of patients who received medical services ...

May 6, 2024 Over the past two weeks, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has issued multiple final rules regarding nondiscrimination. The first final rule, titled "Nondiscrimination in Health Programs and Activities", was filed on April 26, 2024, and prohibits d...

April 29, 2024 Governor Phil Murphy has signed a proclamation, as he has repeatedly done in previous years, declaring May of this year as Mental Health Awareness Month. As stated in Governor Murphy's proclamation, "Mental health is an essential part of overall health and well-being,...

April 23, 2024 Saturday, April 20, 2024, marked the 25th anniversary of the Columbine school shooting, which claimed the lives of 12 students and one teacher. The day before, on Friday, April 19, 2024, a vigil was held in the victim's honor, during which legislators, family members of...

April 22, 2024 Reinforce the Fact that New Jerseyans Cannot Wait any Longer for Life Saving Care! Advocate for Significantly More Investment in the FY2025 State Budget! Debra L. Wentz, PhD, President and CEO of NJAMHAA, and leaders of partner advocacy organizations recently held...

April 8, 2024 The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Office of the Inspector General has published a new report, Nursing Home Residents with Endangering Behaviors and Mental Health Disorders May be Vulnerable to Facility-Initiated Discharges, suggesting that more resea...

April 4, 2024 On April 2, 2024, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' (HHS') Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced policies for the Affordable Care Act Marketplaces that make it easier for individuals with low income levels to enroll in coverage; provi...

April 2, 2024 New Jersey's Maternal and Infant Health Innovation Center (MIHIC), to be located in Trenton, NJ, is part of First Lady Tammy Murphy's Nurture NJ Initiative. It is intended to serve as an anchor for equitable provision of maternal and infant healthcare services, social se...

March 26, 2024 On Saturday, March 23, 2024, President Biden signed HR2882, the Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024, into law, providing funding for the remaining six regular Fiscal Year 2024 (FY24) appropriations bills through the end of the fiscal year, until September 30,...

March 19, 2024 The United States Congress and The White House have until midnight this Friday, March 22, 2024, to pass a spending bill for approximately 70% of the federal government, or a partial government shutdown will be set to...

March 14, 2024 On Monday, March 11, 2024, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy released a more than 900-page independent report on the state's COVID-19 response, the first such report of its kind released by any state in the nation. As reported on governing.com, the report found that N...

On March 11, 2024, Mary Abrams, MPP, NJAMHAA's Sr. Health Policy Analyst, testified before the Assembly Budget Committee on the FY2025 Budget. Abrams spoke of the severe strain on the behavioral healthcare workforce as demand, acuity and waiting lists continue to grow. She spoke of the li...