Marsha Glover knows that the “big, beautiful bill” would do big, horrible things to behavioral health in this country.
As we’ve pointed out, the budget bill that passed the House of Representatives by one vote would seriously damage Medicaid.
By cutting this lifesaving program and making other harmful policy changes, the bill would strip health coverage from as many as 16 million people. It would also wreck food assistance, gouge Medicare and blow up other public services people rely on — all to give massive tax cuts to the rich and powerful.
Medicaid is a federal and state health insurance program that covers low-income families and children, those with disabilities, and some elderly people.
It’s also the single largest payer for mental health services and is playing a bigger role in paying for substance abuse treatment in the United States, according to a recent report. And it covers nearly 40% of all children in the country. That means millions of kids also get mental health services through this vital program.
“Medicaid … pays every 1 in 4 dollars for vital mental health and substance use disorder treatment,” the report says. “If Congress dismantles the program or limits its reach through funding cuts, it will reverse much of the progress made to expand mental health access since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.”
Glover knows this all too well.
She’s a family crisis therapist for Delaware’s Division of Youth, Children and Family Services, and president of AFSCME Local 3078 (Council 81). She knows firsthand just how badly substance abuse — especially fentanyl addiction — hurts families.
Cutting Medicaid endangers addiction-treatment services that the program pays for. And cuts to addiction treatment will be deadly for families and have a cascading effect on communities, Glover warns.
She describes a scenario she sees a lot in her work. A baby is born to drug-addicted parents. Medicaid-funded treatment provided by the state of Delaware helps care for the babies and the parents.
“If those services get cut, then those babies could end up passing away from not having the medical attention that they need. Their parents won’t be able to engage with the services and the treatments to help them get off those drugs,” Glover says.
If the U.S. Senate passes the budget bill in its current form, Medicaid will be damaged at the worst possible time. America is grappling with a mental health crisis. There’s a huge spike in demand for mental health treatment and ever higher rates of mental illness. More than one in five adults in the United States lives with a mental illness.
We all need to join the fight to make sure this doesn’t happen. Let’s Get Organized and fight this big, bad budget bill.