FY21 Budget Info Statement from Treatment Advocacy Center on the White House’s FY2021 Budget Proposal The Treatment Advocacy Center (TAC) is encouraged to see the core issues of aBedInstead emphasized in President Trump’s full budget proposal, which calls for an unprecedented infusion of federal funding to support the elimination of the discriminatory Institutions for Mental Diseases (IMD) exclusion. In an op-ed published in conjunction with Monday’s announcement, White House Domestic Policy Council Director Joe Grogan reiterated, “All Americans with serious mental illnesses have the ability to lead productive and dignified lives. It’s time they have access to the care they need.” Severe mental illness truly knows no political party; our national psychiatric bed shortage is a crisis that devastates red and blue states alike. The President’s budget proposal reflects the severity of this crisis, and would invest hundreds of millions of dollars to restore treatment beds and make accessible treatment a reality. As American Psychiatric Association President Bruce Schwartz, M.D. recently explained in meetings with administration officials, “The entire system is driven by the availability of inpatient beds, especially public beds.” It’s evident that our nation’s dire psychiatric bed shortage is a priority for policymakers across the nation as communities struggle to find comprehensive solutions. Two Democratic presidential candidates—Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sen. Amy Klobuchar—have each called for the elimination of the IMD exclusion, recognizing how the outdated policy has devastated bed availability in Iowa, New Hampshire and the entire nation. In fact, the home states of Mayor Buttigieg (Indiana) and Sen. Bernie Sanders (Vermont) have already secured an exemption to the IMD exclusion, joining Washington D.C. as the first to end this discriminatory practice. While TAC is pleased to see that the President’s budget proposal contains much-needed funding to address severe mental illness, we remain concerned that these positive developments are accompanied by efforts to eliminate Medicaid expansion or introduce block granting of the government health program. Those with severe mental illness and their families depend on the availability of Medicaid services, and attempts to restrict the program’s reach would unnecessarily harm those same populations benefited by the elimination of the IMD exclusion. View as Webpage Treatment Advocacy Center | 200 N Glebe Rd, Ste 801, Arlington, VA 22203 Unsubscribe [email protected] Update Profile | About Constant Contact Sent by [email protected] in collaboration with Try email marketing for free today!