President Joe Biden's $7.3 trillion proposed budget for fiscal year 2025 includes several investments in mental health and substance use treatment.
The proposed budget, published March 11, is largely similar to last year's proposal, according to The New York Times. Last year's proposal did not gain momentum in Congress.
Here's eight mental health initiatives to note:
- The proposed budget would include "significant investments" in the 988 suicide crisis lifeline and would expand CDC suicide prevention programs to additional states.
- The administration proposed additional investments in community behavioral health centers and more funding for integrating behavioral health and primary care.
- The budget includes $1 billion for health IT and interoperability for certain behavioral health providers.
- The administration is pitching "parity of coverage between behavioral and physical conditions" in Medicare. The budget would also expand the types of behavioral health providers available to Medicare beneficiaries and reduce costs for beneficiaries receiving mental health treatment.
- The budget includes stronger mental health parity requirements for commercial health plans and would provide $275 million over 10 years to increase enforcement and oversight of mental health and substance use treatment parity.
- The budget would provide a total of $216 million to increase funding for counselors, psychologists, social workers and other mental health professionals in K-12 schools.
- The budget includes increased funding for the State Opioid Response grant program and funds a new technical assistance center focused on women's mental health and substance use.
- The proposed budget puts $135 million toward VA research for suicide prevention and another $713 million toward opidoid use disorder prevention and treatment programs for veterans.