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White House Releases 2026 National Drug Control Strategy
The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy this week released its 2026 National Drug Control Strategy (NDCS) that describes the federal government’s approach to address the nation’s illicit drug crisis.
The NDCS identified several action items related to substance use disorder (SUD) treatment, including enhancing early intervention, promoting treatment availability, ensuring access to evidence-based treatment for non-opioid SUDs, improving outcomes for people with SUD involved in the criminal-legal system, and pursuing national consensus-based standards for SUD treatment.
The NDCS also emphasized the value of faith in supporting drug use prevention and SUD treatment.
MACPAC Offers Recommendations to Address Residential Behavioral Health Treatment for Children in Medicaid
The Medicaid and CHIP Payment and Access Commission (MACPAC) on Thursday included specific recommendations for residential behavioral health treatment for children in Medicaid in a draft chapter the commission will include in its June 2026 report to Congress.
Draft Recommendation 1 suggests Congress require HHS to develop and maintain a directory of youth residential treatment facilities to ensure states, families, and providers have complete, accurate, and updated information about residential treatment facilities and bed availability; and Draft Recommendation 2 recommends the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) report on the use of residential treatment services, including non-psychiatric residential treatment facilities and out-of-state providers.
Click here for more detailed information from MACPAC’s presentation on Thursday, May 7.
NABH Sends Feedback on BRIDGES Act Discussion Draft to U.S. Senate Finance Committee
NABH on Thursday sent comments to the U.S. Senate Finance Committee about a discussion draft of the Better Results through In-community Delivery, Greater Enforcement, and Stronger Services (BRIDGES) for Kids Act, a proposal that Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), the panel’s ranking member, released last December.
Our letter emphasized that the United States lacks sufficient capacity to serve children with behavioral health conditions across all levels of care, and that this lack of capacity is disproportionately concentrated within the higher levels of care, creating a mismatch where children with the most severe conditions are the least likely to get treatment.
“Access to youth residential treatment is a prime example of this problem,” our letter said. “Many children can be treated successfully in community-based outpatient programs; however, some children have more severe conditions that require higher-intensity services, including residential treatment. Accessing residential treatment is increasingly difficult because the number of centers has sharply declined to only 461 in 2024 from 848 in 2012. Despite NABH members’ best efforts, we need federal action to ensure children can access medically necessary residential treatment. We encourage the Committee to consider policies that support this.”
We also explained that NABH members are expanding access to the full behavioral healthcare continuum so children with serious emotional disturbances and substance use disorders receive timely, medically necessary treatment.
Our thanks to members of the NABH Youth Services Committee who contributed helpful information that we included in our letter.
NABH and Coalition Partners Comment on President’s Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Proposal
Also this week, NABH joined more than 90 national and state organizations in urging the leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees to maintain strong, dedicated federal investments in overdose prevention, SUD treatment, and recovery support services in the FY 2027 appropriations process.
Our collective comments follow President Trump’s recent fiscal year 2027 budget proposal and ask congressional leaders to maintain total funding for these programs at no less than FY 2026 enacted levels; preserve substance use and overdose prevention and response as specific and protected priorities; strengthen accountability for overdose-related outcomes; retain states’ capacity to fund evidence-based treatment at scale; and ensure agencies retain sufficient staffing to implement, monitor, and evaluate the programs effectively.
NABH Board Treasurer Stuart Archer of Oceans Healthcare Testifies at La. Field Hearing
Oceans Healthcare CEO and NABH Board Treasurer Stuart Archer, M.B.A., FACHE on Wednesday testified in the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee’s field hearing to discuss mental health and substance use treatment across the care continuum.
Archer joined four other expert witnesses, including Arthur Kleinschmidt, Ph.D., M.B.A., LPC, former principal deputy assistant secretary for mental health and substance use at the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, at the hearing in Metairie, La.
CMS to Explore Strategies for Rural Health Financial Sustainability in Upcoming Webinar
CMS will host a 45-minute webinar later this month that provides strategies to strengthen and sustain rural health systems.
The webinar will examine how the rural emergency hospital model and technical assistance support access and financial sustainability, key shifts to value-based and alternative payment models, and what’s next for rural health.
Click here to register for the webinar, which starts at 1 p.m. ET on Wednesday, May 20.
Fact of the Week
The Health Resources and Services Administration reports the supply of adult psychiatrists is expected to decrease 20% by 2030, while demand for their services is expected to rise by 3%, leaving a shortage of more than 12,000 fully trained psychiatrists.
For questions or comments about this CEO Update, please contact Jessica Zigmond