Healthcare advocacy groups are warning that treatment for addiction and mental illness is becoming harder to find as Medicaid cuts take effect. A fact sheet from Protect Our Care showed 55 mental health facilities, behavioral clinics or mental health wards have closed nationwide since last summer, when Congress passed large cuts to Medicaid in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act,” with many changes taking effect this January.
The impact on patient access is significant. About 50% of people who receive help for opioid use get their coverage through Medicaid, and about a third of people with mental healthcare needs rely on Medicaid coverage. More people experiencing psychiatric episodes or addiction could lose coverage and end up in emergency rooms, according to Matt Herdman, California state director for Protect Our Care.
The changes include additional paperwork to meet new work requirements or prove eligibility every six months. The California Health Care Foundation estimates the cuts will cost Medi-Cal $30 billion a year and cause 3.4 million Californians to lose coverage. Many people already dropped coverage after Congress allowed COVID-era premium subsidies to expire, according to Dr. Jerry Abraham, director of public health integration, street medicine and workforce development for Kedren Community Health Center in South Los Angeles.
The administrative and financial burdens of losing Medicaid revenue are immediate. “At MLK Community Hospital and Louisiana County General Hospital, if we lose the revenue that comes in via Medicaid, we won’t be able to pay the bills, and at some point, we won’t be able to keep the doors open,” Abraham cautioned. This means a major increase in uncompensated care in emergency rooms as coverage gaps push patients into crisis settings.
To stave off potential closures, backers have put Measure ER on the ballot in Los Angeles County. The measure would temporarily increase the sales tax by half a cent, raising $1 billion a year for five years to support health care services. The Trump administration directed the savings from Medicaid cuts toward other priorities, including immigration enforcement and lower corporate taxes.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://kiowacountypress.net/content/health-care-advocates-medicaid-cuts-hurting-mental-health-facilities