Email UpdatesThe Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) is announcing a historic investment to integrate mental health and substance use disorder treatment into primary care. This funding includes $240 million in awards to launch and expand mental health and substance use disorder services in more than 400 community health centers across the country that care for more than 10 million people (about half the population of New York). Health centers are trusted community providers and a primary source of care for individuals across the country who are uninsured, underinsured, or enrolled in Medicaid – making them well-positioned to respond to the urgent need for behavioral health services that are high-quality, stigma-free, culturally competent, and readily accessible.
This joins other recent funding announcements that support integration, including:
- Awards for Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Care Programs (9/10/24)
- Funding to Integrate Primary and Behavioral Health Care, and Expand Drug Treatment Court Capacity (8/29/24)
- Awards and Funding Opportunities for Prevention, Treatment, and Workforce Enhancement (8/26/24)
- Awards to Expand Mental Health and Substance Use Services Across the Lifespan (7/24/24)
- Funding Opportunities for Priority Behavioral Health Needs (6/14/24)
The Biden-Harris Administration has called for requiring and funding mental health and substance use disorder services in all 1,400 HRSA-supported health centers nationwide that together serve more than 31 million people (about the population of California). Last year, the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee passed bipartisan legislation to enact the Administration’s proposal to make behavioral health a core health center service. The Administration seeks further congressional action to secure this expansion of mental health and substance use disorder treatment as part of a multiyear extension of community health center funding.