Letter to the Hon. Mitch McConnell, Senate Majority Leader, and the Hon. Charles Schumer, Senate Minority Leader - As Overdoses Spike Across New York State During COVID-19 Pandemic, Gillibrand Pushes For Robust Funding To Support Substance Use Disorder And Mental Health Care Services In Next Relief Package

Letter

Dear Leaders McConnell and Schumer:

As you negotiate the next coronavirus package, we urge you to include robust funding for substance use disorder and mental health care. Robust supplemental funding will help address the substance use disorder crisis that has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. With such funding, individuals will be better supported to begin and sustain recovery, and family members will be better equipped to find help for their loved ones as well as themselves.

The combination of social distancing, increased financial stress, loss of work, lack of structured time, and uncertainty about the future -- coupled with disruption to traditional and local care services -- has created a perfect storm for mental health and addiction struggles and a pressing need for increased funding for treatment and support services. Meanwhile, mental health and addiction providers and organizations are in an economic crisis and in jeopardy of failing because of the COVID-19 pandemic. In New York alone, community behavioral health organizations expect to close their doors within months because of the financial uncertainty originating from the pandemic. If these organizations fail, millions of people living with mental illness or addiction will flood health centers, urgent care facilities and emergency departments, all of which are already over-burdened.

The mental health and addiction field needs supplemental emergency funding in the next legislative package to combat the economic and health care effects of COVID-19, maintain operations, and ensure stability for the duration of the crisis. Advocates, including the National Council for Behavioral Health, continue to urge for the allocation of nearly $40 billion in emergency funds for providers of mental health and addiction treatment services.

Your inclusion in the final negotiated package of robust funding to support substance use disorder and mental health services will provide necessary resources for at-risk individuals, their families, and their communities.

Our country's substance use disorder and mental health crises have been made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the wake of increased isolation and anxiety coupled with treatment and support system disruptions, the number of people suffering, relapsing, and dying from substance use disorders is increasing. Now, more than ever, those with mental health and addiction struggles and the caregivers looking to help them need our help.

Thank you for recognizing this need and responding in kind.

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