Join Us in Asking Congress to Support Medicaid and Protect Access to Critical Mental Health Services!

As budget negotiations take place in Congress, leaders in both chambers are considering deep cuts to Medicaid funding. These cuts would create barriers to health coverage and reduce critical services for those who depend on Medicaid and would jeopardize mental health care access for millions of Americans.

The Medicaid program provides public health insurance to over 72 million Americans and is the largest single payer for mental health services in the United States. It covers approximately 26% of all mental health treatment costs and roughly 40% of total spending for addiction. Medicaid also provides healthcare coverage for many pregnant women, children, people with disabilities, working families, and veterans.

Congressional leaders are currently considering several changes to the Medicaid program that would be harmful to
these vulnerable groups, including:

• Capping the program to a certain amount per beneficiary. This would lead to cuts in services and caps will be devastating in the event of another pandemic or the discovery of new treatments.
• Decreasing the federal contribution to Medicaid in states that have expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act. This policy would drastically increase the financial burden on states and lead to additional cuts in services. additionally, several states have statutory provisions that automatically take away Medicaid health insurance from all the new people covered by the Affordable Care Act's Medicaid provisions if Congress makes this change.
• Adding work requirements. Studies of states that have piloted work requirements showed that the requirements led to extensive coverage losses, significantly increased medical debt and cost of care, and did not improve employment. 

MHA is strongly opposed to these changes and urges Congress to support access to mental health and substance use care for everyone who needs it. Join us in taking action today!