By Dr. Jorge R. Petit & Alex Wolff

This past Sunday, we recognized World Mental Health Day—a day dedicated to centering global mental health issues and providing a platform to those working to neutralize stigma and ensure universal access to mental health care services. While always timely, this year’s World Mental Health Day felt especially vital—over the past 18 months, the COVID-19 pandemic has exposed the severe health disparities here in New York and their systemic nature. The pandemic has caused unprecedented trauma, anxiety, stress, social isolation and economic decline on a global scale, but its impact has been disproportionately pronounced on individuals with mental health and substance use conditions—especially those in Black and Brown communities[1]. We’ve seen protective social determinants eroded and risk factors accelerated in our underserved neighborhoods, and the double jeopardy of corresponding upticks in poor mental health, substance use disorders (substance use disorders) and overdoses[2] with more prevalent COVID-19 infection rates and severe symptoms for people with diagnosed SUD.

And so, this crisis has provided new opportunities to mitigate these underlying systemic inequities with fresh urgency. At Coordinated Behavioral Care (CBC), we’ve fostered partnerships with the community-based, not-for-profit behavioral health service provider organizations in our network—pillars of these neighborhoods—to implement programs that increase access to high-quality, culturally appropriate, individualized and timely services, and advocated on behalf of our provider network for the necessary regulatory and/or administrative measures that facilitate the provision of these essential services.

Case in point—in recent weeks the NYS Office of Addiction Services and Supports (OASAS) has announced a $10.49 million award to launch the Citywide Addiction Support Network (CASN), which will expand services that support the prevention of, treatment for and recovery from opioid and stimulant use in historically underserved Bronx, Manhattan and Queens communities. CBC IPA is thrilled to facilitate operations on this exciting new diverse, multi-stakeholder initiative. Samaritan Daytop Village served as the lead applicant for the award, and is represented on the Leadership Management Team with Educational Alliance and Argus Community. Two other IPAs (Cogency and EngageWell) are helping us facilitate CASN operations—together, we will provide network infrastructure to foster multi-agency networks that can tackle these complex healthcare challenges. CASN has begun to leverage its team of forty-strong Peer Specialists to market 24/7 access to medications for opioid use disorder via NYC Health + Hospitals and Samaritan Daytop Village. Meanwhile, CASN has brought external NYC stakeholders to the table—partnering with leadership from justice, homeless services, child welfare, educational and other systems, as well as community leaders, on an Advisory Committee to inform Network activities and services.

And while we’ve been working to coalesce these providers with a common goal to establish a more comprehensive safety net, New York State has been hearing our call to simplify and remove barriers to accessing medication-assisted treatment (MAT). Effective October 1^st, the NYS Department of Health is implementing a single statewide formulary for Opioid Antagonists and Opioid Dependence Agents for Medicaid Managed Care Plans and Medicaid Fee for Service. The Statewide MAT Formulary is comprehensive and individuals will have access to medications used to treat substance use disorders in a more aligned and efficient manner across the different plans and products. This should allow for greater access and adherence to the interventions we’re bringing to these underserved communities via CASN.