Reverse the cuts of mental health care now

According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Illinois state spending on mental health care dropped $187 million, or 31.7 percent, between fiscal 2009 and 2012.

Still, California cut $587 million in health services in the last two years and, according to the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors, total cuts for all 50 states was $3.4 billion over the last three years. While the programs were being cut, the number of people seeking help at public mental health facilities grew by 400,000.

Now we are seeing the results of what Illinois and other states have done — a 20 percent increase in psychiatric emergencies throughout the country. We’ve also seen an increase in serious suicide attempts, while hospitals have trouble coping with the influx of new patients.

Because of the high cost of emergency room visits, these budget cuts are costing the public far more than states are saving. In addition, the cost in pain and suffering is huge. The economic conditions are only making matters worse, as serious depression increases among those who have lost their jobs.

Kristina Ragosta, Treatment Advocacy Center legislative and policy counsel said it best when she wrote: “Facilitating outpatient treatment before individuals with serious mental illness require more costly services or interventions would be both humane and fiscally responsible.”

We must follow the recommendations by NAMI, which include protecting state mental health funding and restoring budget cuts, with funding tied to performance; maintaining an adequate number of inpatient beds for psychiatric treatments; investing in research on early detection and intervention, implementing mental health screening and assessment programs and supporting programs designed to educate families, peers, and the public about various mental illnesses and how to respond to people living with these serious illnesses.

Joseph M. Jason

President, NAMI BA

Buffalo Grove