“The name Behavioral Health Association of Providers (BHAP) exemplifies the importance of working with government legislators to influence the language in bill authoring and include the associated illnesses encompassed within behavioral health,” said Andrew Martin, Chief Operating Officer.
LOS ANGELES (PRWEB) April 02, 2018
To effectively represent providers at the national level, Behavioral Health Association of Providers has replaced American Addiction Treatment Association. SAMHSA defined Behavioral Health as referring to mental/emotional well-being and/or actions that affect wellness. Behavioral health problems include substance use disorders; alcohol and drug addiction; and serious psychological distress, suicide, and mental disorders.
“Because behavioral health encompasses so much more than the disease of addiction, our executive board has made the bold move of changing our name to Behavioral Health Association of Providers (BHAP). This change exemplifies the importance of working with government legislators to influence the language in bill authoring and include the associated illnesses encompassed within behavioral health,” said Andrew Martin, Chief Operating Officer. Andrew continues, “This is an important time in the behavioral healthcare field’s history because there are more legislative proposals than ever; on the federal and state governmental levels. The industry’s voice must be united and be heard.”
The governmental focus on legislative action is being driven by the opioid crisis in America as well as the recent concentration of press reports pertaining to poorly operated providers in the addiction treatment market segment. “Perhaps this is the most important time for ethical and legally compliant behavioral health providers to band together in a unified voice and to proclaim self-regulation,” states Andrew Martin; “The vast majority of behavioral health providers are operating with ethical and legally compliant business practices, however the attention of the government regulators and the press is focused on the poorly managed and criminally operated limited minority of providers. If the ethical and legally compliant providers do not stand together, the behavioral health industry runs the significant risk of government regulation that is based on ill-informed and emotionally charged beliefs.”
Andrew Martin, who is a Licensed Advanced Alcohol and Drug Counselor, continues, “Lawmakers are not experts in behavioral health, and they do not understand the intricacies and inter-dependencies of behavioral health disorders and illness. Without this specialized knowledge, the reality is that restrictive regulation addressing one aspect of treatment will be proposed and possibly passed into law. This approach has the high potential of unintended consequences for associated aspects of treatment, and may have severe impact on the continuum of care as a whole.”
About:
Behavioral Health Association of Providers (BHAP) is a national trade membership association that provides education and advocacy for behavioral healthcare providers and related entities.
Membership provides confidence that providers are informed about compliance with changing legal regulations and industry best practices, while reinforcing provider reputation within a network of ethical business practitioners.
Educational and certification opportunities build skills with higher-level learning designed for providers interested in ethical business practices and regulatory compliance, and informing prospective consumers of the dedication the provider exhibits toward honest business practices.
Advocacy efforts encourage industry involvement and self-regulation by informing providers of legislative activity that will promote state and federal rules and regulations that benefit providers and those suffering from behavioral health illnesses.