We have disagreed on plenty over the years. That’s politics. But one conviction never wavered for either of us: a broken mind deserves the same care as a broken bone.
That shared belief led the two of us to do something Washington rarely manages — solve a big problem together. This is a good time to reinforce that healthcare above the neck should be treated like healthcare below the neck.
In 1963, President John F. Kennedy signed the Community Mental Health Act into law. Its goals were to replace the system of warehousing people with behavioral health issues in asylums with clinics so people could receive high-quality, comprehensive care in their own communities. It was visionary, but chronically underfunded. The states did a great job of closing facilities, but almost never replaced them.
In 2014, we began the process and funding to fix that, and in 2022, created a pathway for all 50 states.
We worked to create Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics. Not patchwork, but a system. CCBHCs are required to provide comprehensive care, including 24/7 crisis services, immediate screenings and risk assessments, and coordination with law enforcement and veterans’ groups.
A new report released Aug. 4 showed that CCBHCs serve over 3.4 million people nationwide, a 13% increase year over year. And they’re helping people who need help the most: more than half of those receiving care at a CCBHC have a serious mental illness, which includes diagnoses such as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. After becoming a CCBHC, 41% of clinics were able to add mobile crisis response to their offerings, and clinics in rural areas increased the number of people served by 46%, all helping to reduce the burden of response from law enforcement and emergency rooms.
In other words, this model helps people who have never received care before to get the help they need, when and where they need it.
What followed is rare in Washington: a genuine track record, across administrations of both parties. Bipartisan in both chambers of Congress, signed into law by former President Barack Obama, launched and expanded in President Donald Trump’s first term, became nationwide in bipartisan legislation signed into law by former President Joe Biden, and most recently improved and strengthened in Trump’s second term. In both chambers of Congress, in every phase, this has been bipartisan.
Why? Because this is how effective policy gets done.
CCBHCs are making a difference for youth in particular. The CDC recently published findings showing high school students reported improvement across five of six mental health and suicide-risk indicators, including persistent sadness, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts. It’s no coincidence this coincides with the rapid and bipartisan expansion of CCBHCs: 57% of CCBHCs reported serving more children and youth since certification, and 95.8% now partner with schools, delivering care in more than 9,000 schools nationwide — the same setting CDC identifies as key to reaching students. Since certification, 67.6% of CCBHCs have hired clinicians with child and youth specialties.
Polling also confirms what we’ve long known — helping people isn’t just the right thing to do, it’s good politics. A recent survey by Trump’s 2024 campaign pollster showed 3 in 4 registered voters support expanding federal and state funding for CCBHCs. This support was consistent across party lines, with majorities of Trump, Harris, and swing voters all showing how mental health and addiction issues transcend politics. More still, 7 out of 10 likely voters indicated they are more likely to vote for a candidate who backs efforts to expand the CCBHC model.
MILLIONS OF AMERICANS ARE WALKING AWAY FROM OBAMACARE
We encourage our former colleagues to heed the voices of their constituents and continue the work we started to support and strengthen the CCBHC model.
Progress is real, but it isn’t finished. Every American who needs behavioral healthcare should be able to walk into a CCBHC and get it. Republicans and Democrats in Congress and in the administration should not rest until that’s true.
Democrat Debbie Stabenow and Republican Roy Blunt are former U.S. senators who represented Michigan and Missouri, respectively.
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[ H/T Washington Examiner ]
