ORLANDO, Fla. – The new budget that went into effect on July 1 in Florida includes record funding for mental health services, and industry experts are looking at ways to put that money to good use.
The budget includes $2.5 billion in funding for mental health and substance abuse programs, with the bulk of it being a Medicaid rate increase for behavioral health, the first increase in 20 years, benefiting the state’s more than 5 million Medicaid recipients.
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“This will have an immediate impact on the Medicaid population to increase access and to ensure that there’s sustainability for the providers,” said Melanie Brown-Woofter, president and CEO of the Florida Behavioral Health Association. “So we are very, very excited to see that and that is a short-term and a long-term investment in the community.”
Some $400 million has also been earmarked for community mental health programs that are non-Medicaid related. That includes $126 million in recurring funding (meaning funds that will be consistently allocated every budget year) and $137.6 million in non-recurring funds for community-based services – services that benefit the state’s uninsured or underinsured population.
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Florida ranks 46th in the country for access to mental health care, according to Mental Health America. One factor in that ranking is the amount of state funding for mental health services. Mental health officials say until recently, Florida has consistently underfunded mental health services in the state.
“It’s not hard to say we’re bigger this year because we’ve never been big,” said Marni Stahlman, president of the Mental Health Association of Central Florida. “But (state lawmakers) certainly get a lot of credit for beefing it up and recognizing the work that needs to be done. "
The Mental Health Association got its first allocation in the state budget this year, a $175,000 grant for the group’s Outlook Clinic, a community mental health clinic that provides free services.
Stahlman said the money is being used to expand services to care for teens under 17.
“It’s the largest they’ve ever received, the first time a program will have an expansion of services in 12 years,” said Stahlman, who thanks State Rep. Susan Plascencia, R-Orlando and State Sen. Linda Stewart, D-Orlando, for their support.
Brown-Woofter also touts $90 million for community short-term housing and residential infrastructure, which she says is important since many buildings have not been renovated in a while.
“You know, in the pandemic, we did a lot of telehealth services, and now we’re seeing people want to come back in. So we’re seeing a mix of telehealth and in-person. And so we’ve got to keep our infrastructure safe so that individuals can come in and be seen,” Brown-Woofter said.
Funding is also being provided to expand beds in crisis units, support the mental health crisis hotline (988) and also provide money for telehealth programs for children in rural counties, helpful given the lack of mental health professionals around the state and in those counties in particular.
“We’ve seen an increase in demand, we’ve seen a decrease in the workforce,” Brown-Woofter said. “And so that together has really kind of put us at a tough situation. And so, you know, that’s one of the things that we’re working our way out of is to be able to provide that care timely, and to make sure that if you call, there’s someone there that can help you.”
As much as the budget boost from the state is welcome, both Stahlman and Brown-Woofter say there is still more to do.
Brown-Woofter said there is still a waiting list for mental health services in Florida. Stahlman said groups like the Mental Health Association of Central Florida help pick up the slack for people who do not have access to affordable mental health care because they don’t have insurance coverage, but the state can’t continue to rely on nonprofits.
“We continue to need to make these kinds of investments and continue to make the budget for it recurring and lift Florida out of the bottom five states,” Stahlman said.
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