The Affordable Care Act (ACA) provides new health care options for Americans. The ACA brings affordable health insurance coverage and expanded access to mental health and substance use disorder services to millions of Americans. Community outreach and enrollment efforts can play a vital role in making sure that uninsured individuals learn about new health insurance opportunities. Organizations, including behavioral health providers, working with African American individuals and families face unique outreach and enrollment challenges. Some of these challenges include homelessness, lower rates of health care utilization, and financial barriers such as high out-of-pocket medical expenses and prescription costs.
This strategy brief provides 10 strategies that your organization can use to introduce African American individuals and families to the new health insurance options. Examples are provided from organizations that have successfully used these strategies.
Population of focus: African American Communities
Links to resource:
- Strategies for Behavioral Health Organizations to Promote New Health Insurance Opportunities in African American Communities (pdf)
- Download the brief from the SAMHSA website
Date: 2014
Organization: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration