Mar 9, 2023
As the nation confronts an ongoing mental health crisis, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) praises President Biden for continuing to prioritize mental health in his administration’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 budget proposal, released earlier today. The proposal focuses on increasing the mental health workforce, expanding crisis response and the new 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, improving mental health parity, and additional proposals that will help people affected by mental health conditions.
“Mental health is the bipartisan issue of our time. NAMI is grateful to President Biden for continuing to make mental health care one of the top national priorities in his budget proposal,” said NAMI CEO Daniel H. Gillison Jr. “No family is untouched by our mental health crisis, and we look forward to working with congressional leaders in both parties to continue the bipartisan focus on addressing the mental health needs in our country.”
Key mental health investments in the Biden administration’s FY 2024 proposed budget include:
Workforce Transformation
- $2 billion for a Mental Health System Transformation Fund to expand access to mental health services through workforce development and service expansion.
- $387 million to train about 18,000 behavioral health providers to help respond to the mental health and substance use crisis currently affecting our country, an increase of $190 million above FY 2023 enacted levels.
- $37 million for the SAMHSA Minority Fellowship program, an increase of $17 million over FY 2023 enacted levels, which helps increase the diversity of the mental health workforce.
- Expanding the types of mental health providers covered by Medicare to include clinical social workers, peer support workers, and certified addiction counselors.
Crisis Response
- $836 million for the 988 and Behavioral Health Services program, an increase of $334 million over FY 2023 enacted levels, to ensure 988 can respond to an anticipated 9 million contacts in 2024. This includes specialized services for LGBTQI youth, services for Spanish speakers and a national media campaign for 988.
- $100 million for mobile crisis response, an increase of $80 million over FY 2023 enacted levels, to improve in-person responses to people in crisis.
Research
- $2.54 billion for the National Institute of Mental Health, a $200 million increase over FY 2023 enacted levels, to support better diagnostics and treatments and “enhanced precision” for mental health care.
Parity and Access
- $1.653 billion for the Community Mental Health Block Grant, an increase of $645 million above FY 2023 enacted levels, to help states fill in gaps in their mental health systems.
- $125 million to states to enforce mental health and substance use disorder parity requirements and requiring Medicare Advantage and private health plans to improve coverage of mental health and substance use disorder services.
- Requiring three free mental health visits annually under Medicare and private health insurance plans.
- Eliminating Medicare’s discriminatory 190-day Lifetime Limit on inpatient psychiatric hospital services, a limit that doesn’t exist for other types of inpatient care.
Children and Youth
- $578 million to increase the number of school-based counselors, psychologists, social workers and other health professionals.
- $50 million to develop, expand and enhance community-based alternatives to youth incarceration.
