White House Releases $27B Mental Health Plan to Improve Access to Care

A recently released White House strategy loosely defines how the Biden Administration plans to spend $27 billion in 2023 to combat the growing mental health crisis in the United States. The plan includes hiring strategies to reduce clinician shortages and strengthen the federal behavioral healthcare system.  

According to the new strategy, the Department of Veterans Affairs and Department of Defense will hire 277 peer specialists and 2,500 additional personnel to address problems of substance abuse, mental illness, and suicide.  

The Department of Health and Human Services will also launch its Mental Health Crisis Response Program to address the needs of underprivileged communities. Several other initiatives mentioned in the plan include administrative efforts to support minority and youth groups with education, services, and resources to deal with mental health issues.  

Past projects and funding efforts included in the massive 2021 American Rescue Plan issued billions to support mental health throughout the country. Some of the programs included in that bill leveraged money for pediatric mental illness, school-aged children’s social and emotional needs, and substance use services.  

Federal funding is merited as mental health disorders in the United States have risen for years, and months of quarantine and lockdowns worsened the crisis. Major depressive disorder is now the leading cause of disability for US citizens aged 15 – 44, and generalized anxiety disorder affects 3.1% of all US citizens. 

As depression and anxiety have grown, and behavioral health worsens, behavioral healthcare services have failed to treat the increasing number of patients. Currently, it’s estimated that half of the 60 million US adults and children living with mental health disorders are not receiving any treatment.   

The Biden Administration broadly points to the clinician shortage as a cause for poor access to care. In the White House announcement, administration officials reference the recently released Surgeon General Advisory that offered recommendations to reduce health worker burnout and address the growing gaps between healthcare supply and demand. 

Provider organizations have already begun to change their practices to adjust to having fewer clinician resources. Clinicians have seen a better return for their time by integrating more forms of care into new roles and leveraging telehealth in expanded roles. Hospitals and health systems are also exploring the possibility of automating some processes to decrease administrative burdens on their already stressed workforce. 

Meanwhile, state governments have taken more radical measures to increase access to care by granting full practice authority to physician associates.