WASHINGTON, D.C. – Inseparable Action, a leading bipartisan mental health advocacy organization, today announced the launch of a $1 million targeted advertising campaign across Alaska, Maine, North Carolina, Utah, and West Virginia calling on Senators to protect Medicaid funding and ensure millions of Americans maintain access to critical mental health care services. Complementing the ad campaign, Inseparable Action is releasing a comprehensive 50-state report examining the devastating impacts of the proposed Medicaid cuts on mental health care access, including rural hospital closures, access to substance use disorder treatment programs, and youth and veteran mental health services.
These initiatives are part of the organization’s Medicaid is Mental Health campaign to counter the proposed Medicaid cuts in the H.R. 1 Bill, which the Congressional Budget Office estimates would result in more than 7.8 million people losing their insurance coverage. Medicaid is the cornerstone of mental health care in the United States, covering mental health care for 72 million Americans and paying for more than 25% of all mental health care and 40% of substance use treatment. The reconciliation bill poses a significant risk for people with mental illness by making it harder for them to get and keep Medicaid coverage. Inseparable Action recently launched a $250,000 ad buy urging against proposed Medicaid cuts in the House and a polling report of potential cuts to Medicaid in key battleground districts.
50-State Report Topline Findings:
- Highest Rates Of Medicaid Enrollees with Mental Health/Substance Use Disorder Diagnoses: Ohio (38%), Vermont (37%), Kentucky (34%), Maine (34%), Minnesota (33%)
- Highest Population of Veterans Enrolled in Medicaid: Texas (131,120), Florida (124,743), California (116,831), North Carolina (57,851), Pennsylvania (57,718)
- Projected Number of Rural Hospitals at Risk of Closing because of Medicaid Cuts: Texas (87), Kansas (65), Oklahoma (47), Mississippi (36), Arkansas (30)
- Estimated Medicaid Coverage Loss %: New York (4.19%), California (3.72%), New Mexico (3.63%), Alaska (3.58%), Hawaii (3.28%)
Reduced access to mental health and substance use care would harm everyone–children, the elderly, farmers, veterans, people with disabilities, single parents, and more. Many of us rely on Medicaid. We all love someone who relies on Medicaid. As policymakers consider changes, the evidence is clear: cutting Medicaid will take health care away from millions of Americans, jeopardizing their well-being while making it harder to tackle our nation’s mental health crisis.
The House-passed reconciliation bill poses significant risks for people with mental illness by making it harder for them to get and keep Medicaid coverage. Medicaid is the backbone of mental health and substance use care for millions of Americans. This reconciliation bill sacrifices the mental health care of many for tax cuts for a few. The consequences will break families and communities, as hospitals close, progress on overdose deaths is reversed, and mental illness goes untreated.
“When we talk to lawmakers about this, a lot of them don’t realize how intertwined Medicaid and mental health care are in America,” said Bill Smith, Founder and CEO, Inseparable Action. “For the past few years, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle have talked about the importance of addressing youth mental health, the opioid epidemic, and suicide prevention. Now is the time. This is it. Protecting Medicaid is how we advance mental health, ripping care away from people is how we destroy it.”
About Inseparable Action
Inseparable Action is a leading mental health advocacy organization founded on the belief that mental health is inseparable from physical health. Inseparable drives transformative change at the federal and state levels by engaging policymakers, mobilizing support and advancing mental health and substance use disorder policies that help people thrive. Inseparable Action works to expand coverage of care, promote youth mental health, improve crisis response and bolster the mental health workforce.