The Changing Landscape for Substance Use Treatment in the U.S

After decades of consignment to the periphery of the health care system, substance use treatment is poised to become part of mainstream medical care alongside other health specialties. The passage of the ACA (Affordable Care Act 2010) accelerated the trend toward greater integration of behavioral health (including substance use) with primary health care. Under ACA, substance use treatment was specified as one of 10 essential benefits that health plans were required to offer plan holders. Thus, ACA essentially ‘mainstreamed” behavioral health and placed it squarely into the realm of comprehensive health care for patients. While ACA can be credited with raising the profile of behavioral health services as an integral part of holistic health care, it was scarcely the only factor responsible for the rising profile of substance use treatment within the U.S. health care system.