On December 18th, President Obama signed into law what is known as the “omnibus” appropriations spending bill that would fund the government through September of 2016. This is following the passage of the two year budget deal that was struck in October. That bill included a lift of the sequester spending caps that have been in effect since 2013 and included an agreement to increase discretionary spending by about $80 billion over two years. A budget is largely a symbolic blueprint that dictates to appropriators how, and how much, to spend. The omnibus appropriations bill is the end result of that effort and contains several provisions relating to funding for mental health. Below is a brief rundown of these provisions.
- The National Institutes of Health received a $2 billion funding increase, the largest budget increase for NIH in over 12 years;
- a $91 million increase in funding to combat the growing heroin and prescription drug abuse epidemic;
- Fully funds court-ordered treatment for severely or chronically mentally ill individuals known as Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). This would allow courts to mandate treatment for mentally ill people who have shown to be chronically in and out of jails or psychiatric hospitals. Grants for the similar programs have recently become a contentious issue in Rep. Tim Murphy's (R-PA) mental health bill. AAMFT is has serious concerns about the Murphy’s bill in its current form because it would require states to begin using AOT as a condition of receiving federal mental health dollars as well as make changes to HIPAA laws that could lead to an erosion on patients’ rights.
- more than $1.5 billion for the National Institute of Mental Health;
- more than $1.1 billion for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration;
- $15 million in funding for the Mental Health First Aid program, which provides training for people to identify signs and symptoms of mental illnesses and addictions, and to identify how to intervene and help in a crisis;
- $10 million for mental health courts and adult and juvenile collaboration program grants;
- $73 million for grants to states to upgrade criminal and mental health records for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System;
- $532.6 million for Mental Health Block Grants, which is an increase of $50 million above last year’s levels;
- $414.6 million for Mental Health Programs of Regional and National Significance, which is an increase of $36 million above last year’s levels.
- $1.9 billion for substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grants –, an increase of $38.2 million above last year’s levels. These funds provide funds to support and expand substance abuse and prevention services based on local need.