March 25, 2020
COVID-19 Related Federal Legislation Update
On March 6, President Trump signed into law H.R. 6074, Coronavirus Preparedness and Response Supplemental Appropriations Act. This bill allocates $8.3B to be used for coronavirus preparedness and response, which includes $1.05B for grants to states and local governments. The bill also temporarily modifies certain Medicare requirements to allow providers to offer telehealth services to beneficiaries outside of rural communities. For a more detailed summary of information on H.R. 6074, click HERE.
On March 18, President Trump signed into law H.R. 6021, Families First Coronavirus Response Act. This bill provides FFY2020 supplemental appropriations to support expanded food and nutrition services, establish a federal emergency paid leave benefits program to provide payments to employees taking unpaid leave due to the coronavirus outbreak, expand unemployment benefits, and temporarily increase the Medicaid federal medical assistance percentage (FMAP). For a more detailed summary of information on H.R. 6021, click HERE.
SAMHSA Training and Technical Assistance Related to COVID-19
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration is committed to providing regular training and technical assistance (TTA) on matters related to the mental and substance use disorder field as they deal with COVID-19. Click HERE for available TTA resources.
Free App to Support People in Recovery During COVID-19 Outbreak
As the nation grapples with COVID-19, it’s important to remember that social distancing doesn’t have to mean social isolation, especially for individuals in recovery from addiction, who rely on supportive networks as part of their healing. To help support individuals in recovery from substance use disorder, Addiction Policy Forum has partnered with CHESS Health to launch the Connections App, a free smartphone app that is scientifically proven to support patients in recovery by reducing relapse and promoting pro-social engagement.
For more information on Ohio’s response to COVID-19, visit coronavirus.ohio.gov or call 1-833-4-ASK-ODH (1-833-427-5634). For behavioral health-specific information, visit: https://mha.ohio.gov/coronavirus. For behavioral health-related questions, email covid19BH@mha.ohio.gov. For COVID-19-related OTP questions, email OTP_COVID19@mha.ohio.gov, for Housing questions, email COVID19Housing@mha.ohio.gov and for Telehealth questions, email COVID19BHTelehealth@mha.ohio.gov