Advocacy Group: Push for Peer Recovery Support Services in Essential Health Benefits

Recovery groups should advocate for inclusion of peer recovery support services as part of essential health benefits that will be covered under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), according to Faces & Voices of Recovery. Peer recovery support services are delivered by individuals who have “lived experience” with addiction and recovery.

Faces & Voices of Recovery, an advocacy group, has produced an issue brief that explains how recovery advocates can support inclusion of these non-clinical services that help people achieve long-term recovery from addiction.

The ACA requires states to set up state health insurance exchanges, which will act like marketplaces, where each person can choose a plan that suits them. Through these exchanges, states must offer a core of what are called essential health benefits–services that will be reimbursed or covered by the new exchanges. Services for mental and substance use disorders must be included.  Each state can decide what specific services will be offered.

If peer recovery support services are offered as an essential health benefit, they will be covered by insurance or Medicaid, and organizations that provide the services will be reimbursed for providing the services.

According to Faces & Voices of Recovery, scientific evidence is growing to support the beneficial effects of peer recovery support services. To find out more about how you and your organization can advocate for inclusion of peer recovery support services, visit the Faces & Voices of Recovery website.