Our Health Policy Matters

All over the country, governors are finally beginning to propose new mental health services funding in the aftermath of last year’s mass shootings in Aurora and Sandy Hook. Notes: OH funding is from existing OHT appropriation. CT funding is bond money, some of which may be used by non-MHSA providers. There will be a long road back to policy sanity.  We have to dig ourselves out of the mess caused by $4.6 billion in state mental health cuts over the last few years.  But these governors give us hope that the funding-cut nightmare over which many of them have presided may be finally coming to an end.  In recent weeks, both Republicans and Democrats have announced new community behavioral health funding initiatives, typically ranging between $5 million and $20 million.   But support for community mental health services is not universal.  In states with the worst track records in funding mental health services, their governors continue to be sa...

All over the country, governors are finally beginning to propose new mental health services funding in the aftermath of last year’s mass shootings in Aurora and Sandy Hook. Notes: OH funding is from existing OHT appropriation. CT funding is bond money, some of which may be used by non-MHSA providers. There will be a long road back to policy sanity.  We have to dig ourselves out of the mess caused by $4.6 billion in state mental health cuts over the last few years.  But these governors give us hope that the funding-cut nightmare over which many of them have presided may be finally coming to an end.  In recent weeks, both Republicans and Democrats have announced new community behavioral health funding initiatives, typically ranging between $5 million and $20 million.   But support for community mental health services is not universal.  In states with the worst track records in funding mental health services, their governors continue to be sa...