HYDE-SMITH, MERKLEY LEAD BILL TO ADDRESS MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT SHORTAGES
Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation Would Create Loan Program to Increase Mental Health, Substance Abuse Treatment Facilities
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today joined U.S. Senator Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) to introduce a bill to help increase access to care for mental health and substance use disorders as the nation grapples with a lack of treatment facilities.
The Mental Health Infrastructure Improvement Act (S.1673) would establish a new federal loan and loan guarantee program to incentivize the construction or renovation of mental health or substance abuse disorder treatment facilities. The measure also places an emphasis on high-need, underserved, or rural areas, as well as pediatric- and adolescent-serving facilities.
“This legislation recognizes that our nation faces a growing crisis in not having enough infrastructure and workforce to treat people with mental health and substance abuse disorders. We struggle with this in Mississippi,” Senator Hyde-Smith said. “Our goal is to use loans and loan guarantees to increase the number of facilities to provide quality mental health and substance abuse care, while lessening the burdens now placed on law enforcement and local hospitals.”
“Mental health care is essential health care,” said Senator Merkley. “This legislation is about ensuring that communities in Oregon and across the nation have the infrastructure they need to provide critical mental health and substance use disorder services. By investing in mental health care facilities, we can make meaningful progress in addressing the mental health crisis affecting so many of our friends, neighbors, and loved ones.”
U.S. Representatives Jennifer McClellan (D-Va.) and Don Bacon (R-Neb.) introduced identical companion legislation (HR.3266).
The Mental Health Infrastructure Improvement Act would:
- Establish a new loan and loan guarantee program within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for planning, constructing, or renovating mental health or substance use disorder treatment facilities.
- Set aside at least 25 percent of the funding for pediatric- and adolescent-serving facilities.
- Prioritize facilities located in high-need, underserved, or rural areas, and those capable of providing integrated care for patients with complex needs.
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, more than one in five American adults live with mental illness, and more than 75 percent of adults who needed substance use treatment in the past year did not receive that care.
Treatment availability in most states has not kept up with demand due to shortages in inpatient beds, intensive outpatient programs, and behavioral health providers. As a result, many patients go without care or are boarded in emergency departments for days to weeks until psychiatric beds become available, which can have deeply harmful impacts on patient well-being.
This bipartisan, bicameral legislation is endorsed by the Mississippi Hospital Association, Mississippi Department of Mental Health, American College of Emergency Physicians, American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, American Hospital Association, American Psychiatric Association, American Psychological Association Services, Children’s Hospital Association, Clinical Social Work Association, National Alliance on Mental Illness, National Association for Behavioral Healthcare, National Association of Social Workers, National Rural Health Association, The Trevor Project, and Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association.
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