Proposal Endangers People with Serious Mental Illness
(June 27, 2017) The US Senate's current healthcare reform proposal poses a significant threat to the well-being of those with the most severe mental illnesses. According to the Treatment Advocacy Center, the proposal would vastly reduce Medicaid resources, which serve as the single largest payer of mental health services in the country for more than 4.5 million individuals who are Medicaid beneficiaries.
The proposal would also allow states to waive federal essential health benefit requirements, including coverage requirements for mental and substance abuse care. “Such an allowance would potentially trigger a ‘race to the bottom,’ resulting in reduced mental health coverage at far greater cost,” said John Snook, executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center.
While the proposal finally addresses the outdated Medicaid Institutions for Mental Diseases (or IMD) exclusion, we are concerned about the proposal’s overall impact on our nation’s safety net hospitals, which have traditionally provided care for the most severely mentally ill despite their being uninsured and unable to compensate the facility for their treatment. Without those facilities, even more of those with severe mental illness will end up criminalized. Such an outcome is neither beneficial to the individual nor a good use of our nation’s limited resources.
With the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act during the 114th Congress, our nation finally turned the page toward effective, efficient mental health care. As discussions continue, decision makers must ensure that any reforms reflect the urgency of our nation’s mental health treatment crisis and do not cause us to lose any of our hard-fought momentum.
Snook explained, “We finally have the opportunity to focus federal attention and support on the care of those with the most severe mental illnesses. The data is clear; ignoring the needs of the most severely ill is a mistake that hurts the individual, their families and our system as a whole.”