What to know about Maine's proposed mental health budget increase

Maine legislators have proposed a behavioral health investment that will put $237 million into mental healthcare services every other year. 

The budget proposed by the state's health and human services department aims to make care more affordable and accessible to those who need it, according to a Jan. 11 news release from the department.

 

Here is a breakdown of how the funds would be used:

 

  • Improving services for individuals with Medicare. The state will use $213 million to improve payment options for state-funded programs and increase repayment to providers.

 

  • Increasing behavioral health payments to match inflation. The budget will put $46 million into payments for providers to better align with cost-of-living and housing costs. 

 

  • Improving children's behavioral healthcare. The investment will use $17 million to improve care access, quality and availability of a variety of treatment options.

 

  • Tackling the opioid use crisis. The budget will put $7 million into the expansion and development of substance use programs through support for overdose prevention initiatives, recovery support and treatment programs and $5.4 million will be used to create substance use residential treatment centers.

 

More details on the proposed budget can be found here





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