Lauren Conaboy is the Vice President of National Policy at Centerstone, a nonprofit health system specializing in mental health and substance use disorder treatments. As Vice President of National Policy, Conaboy works to advance policy and regulatory initiatives to accelerate access to affordable, patient-centered behavioral health services that are rooted in the best science of care. Through her advocacy, Conaboy has directly influenced the passage of several bills including passing legislation to create the nation’s first ever three digit dialing code for suicide prevention (9-8-8) as well as directly influenced several provisions of the 2018 SUPPORT Act, a bill designed to combat the nation’s opioid crisis.
Prior to joining the Centerstone team, Conaboy worked as the Government Affairs Director for Seven Counties Services in Kentucky, where she advanced policies to increase access to addiction treatment services, engaged in the state’s 1115 waiver process, and co-chaired a committee that modernized the state’s telehealth regulations for Medicaid.
In addition to over a decade of experience running state and national public policy and advocacy campaigns, Conaboy has also worked in the clinical realm as a marriage and family therapist. In 2019 Conaboy was recognized by Business Insider as a top DC Health Policy Power Player.
Conaboy graduated from the University of Louisville with dual master’s degrees in Clinical Social Work and Marriage & Family Therapy and from the University of Wisconsin Stevens Point with a bachelor’s degree in Political Science.
Past Presentations:
- The Future of Telebehavioral Health in the 117th Congress, EDGE, American Telemedicine Society’s Annual Telehealth Policy Conference, December 2020.
- Virtual Care Delivery, eHealth Initiative & Foundation (eHI) Government Affairs Retreat, December 2020.
In the News
- National Public Radio (Oct. 19, 2020) New Law Creates 988 Hotline for Mental Health Emergencies
- National Public Radio (Dec. 31, 2019) – Efforts To Stop Suicide Will Get A Boost In 2020
- Business Insider (Nov. 22, 2019) – Best healthcare policy book recommendations from DC power players
- Business Insider (Nov. 20, 2019) – Meet the power players of DC healthcare politics and policy
- MedPage Today (Aug. 28, 2019) – Proposed Changes to Part 2 Earns Praise and Censure
- WDRB Kentucky (June 27, 2019) – Federal funding on the line for mental health and addiction treatment in Kentucky
- Indiana Business Journal (Jan. 9, 2019) – Three ways elected leaders can change health care
Professional Affiliations:
- American Telemedicine Association’s Mental Health Special Interest Group (SIG)
