How cuts to the nation's main mental health agency could impact Americans

1 month ago

The nation's main intelligence wellness agency is being dissolved, and folded into a caller national wellness agency. Some lawmakers and wellness attraction providers are concerned astir nan impacts.

AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:

The nation's main intelligence wellness agency is being dissolved, and it's already mislaid astir a 3rd of its staff. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration, aliases SAMHSA, is being folded into different entity arsenic Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. reshapes national wellness agencies. These changes person immoderate lawmakers and wellness attraction providers concerned. NPR wellness analogous Rhitu Chatterjee is present to show america more. Hi, Rhitu.

RHITU CHATTERJEE, BYLINE: Hi, Ayesha.

RASCOE: So tin you punctual america what SAMHSA is and what is nan agency's main job?

CHATTERJEE: Absolutely. So SAMHSA, you know, was created successful 1992 because of bipartisan authorities that was signed by President George H. W. Bush. And its main occupation has been to springiness costs to states, communities, backstage groups for intelligence wellness and addiction-related services, some connected nan prevention broadside and connected treatment. And, you know, these costs person gone to services like, say, 988, nan Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, which served much than 10 cardinal group successful its first year. And besides things that service important and susceptible populations for illustration intelligence wellness services successful schools, intelligence wellness clinics successful communities, and medicine for overdose prevention. And these costs person been captious for Americans to entree attraction for behavioral health. I said pinch Adriatik Likcani, who's a matrimony and family therapist astatine Recovery Lighthouse. That's an addiction betterment halfway successful Warrensburg, Missouri.

ADRIATIK LIKCANI: Rural communities don't person a batch of backing locally to money curen aliases recovery. So SAMHSA grants really were a lifeline. It benignant of brought life into those communities. It funded initiatives that they were ne'er capable to fund. And it created these betterment centers that helped america meet nan need.

CHATTERJEE: And, you know, Ayesha, that meant that group successful these agrarian communities didn't person to recreation anymore for treatment, making betterment much likely. And, you know, Likcani gave maine an illustration of an inaugural that SAMHSA not conscionable funded but besides introduced to Missouri, and that's utilizing adjacent support for recovery, and that's erstwhile you person group who are themselves successful recovery, getting trained to thief others.

RASCOE: So really person nan caller unit layoffs astatine nan national level affected things for him successful Missouri? Like, has he mislaid immoderate of his funding?

CHATTERJEE: Not yet, but, you know, he is tense because President Trump's big, beautiful measure cuts $1 cardinal from SAMHSA's budget, and he is disappointed and disheartened that nan location SAMHSA agency successful Kansas City, Missouri, that he and his colleagues relied connected truthful overmuch for guidance and support has been shuttered, on pinch different location offices. And I besides heard this from wellness attraction providers successful different states, too. Here's Dr. Eric Rafla-Yuan, a psychiatrist successful San Diego.

ERIC RAFLA-YUAN: States and entities person conscionable been really hesitant to scope retired to immoderate of nan national staff. Often, their contacts person been fired, nan contacts spell unanswered. And truthful it benignant of person nan consciousness crossed a batch of nan wellness agencies that you're conscionable connected your own.

CHATTERJEE: And truthful without that guidance and proposal connected champion practices from group successful SAMHSA, there's interest that group won't really beryllium capable to beryllium arsenic effective pinch their money erstwhile it comes to providing care.

RASCOE: Does Congress person immoderate opportunity pinch these changes? Are lawmakers, you know, making immoderate statements connected this?

CHATTERJEE: So Congress has not approved these changes, but during a caller proceeding by nan House Appropriations Committee, Democrats grilled nan wellness caput astir this. Madeleine Dean represents suburban Philadelphia successful Congress, and she's had individual acquisition pinch nan opioid epidemic. One of her sons is successful betterment from opioid addiction. And she asked Kennedy astir these changes successful ray of nan caller advancement successful overdose deaths.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

MADELEINE DEAN: Twenty-seven percent simplification successful overdose deaths successful this country. Overdose is stealing a procreation successful this country, truthful why successful God's sanction are we shuttering SAMHSA?

ROBERT F KENNEDY JR: We are not shuttering SAMHSA. And I stock your concerns, and I'm anxious to activity pinch you connected this problem.

CHATTERJEE: And, you know, Kennedy went connected to opportunity that he was bringing SAMHSA into his caller Administration for a Healthy America, aliases AHA, to reside chronic diseases, including intelligence unwellness and addiction. But Dean pushed him to explicate his reasoning down this.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

DEAN: Why would we, erstwhile we are yet seeing immoderate success, hide that success, put it successful an AHA program? Which, by nan way, logically doesn't make immoderate sense. We person to now rehire group and fig retired what their roles will beryllium wrong AHA.

CHATTERJEE: And she asked him if he'd done immoderate study to support his decision, and Kennedy didn't really reply that, but he did opportunity that he'd make judge that group pinch addiction had entree to overdose prevention and different medications. And we will beryllium keeping an oculus connected really each this plays out.

RASCOE: That's NPR's Rhitu Chatterjee. Thank you truthful overmuch for breaking this down for us.

CHATTERJEE: My pleasure.

Accuracy and readiness of NPR transcripts whitethorn vary. Transcript matter whitethorn beryllium revised to correct errors aliases lucifer updates to audio. Audio connected npr.org whitethorn beryllium edited aft its original broadcast aliases publication. The charismatic grounds of NPR’s programming is nan audio record.