The organization says that millions of Americans will lose access to mental health care.
The current administration ran a campaign that promised to make sweeping changes to the government and the services it provides in an effort to curb overspending, along with what it called waste, fraud, and abuse. The administration recently led the passage of its first major legislation through the House of Representatives and the Senate, which it refers to as the Big, Beautiful Bill.
However, the bill has raised concerns on both sides of the aisle due to the specific cuts that it makes.
The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) issued a response to the bill, stating that the cuts to Medicare and Medicaid will result in a significant number of Americans losing access to healthcare, including mental health care.1
In a press release, NAMI’s CEO Daniel H. Gillison, Jr., said, “There is nothing beautiful about stripping millions of Americans of their health coverage, making drastic funding cuts to Medicaid, and shuttering health care providers across the country. Yet the Senate just passed a bill that will do just that. People with mental illness have shared story after story about how critical Medicaid coverage is for accessing lifesaving mental health care, and it's devastating to see policymakers ignore the pleas of the people they represent by advancing these harmful policies."
NAMI’s chief advocacy officer Hannah Wesolowski added, “This bill will impact every aspect of our nation's health care systems, particularly our mental health system. We've heard a lot during the debate of this bill on who is 'deserving' of Medicaid. At NAMI, we believe that every person is worthy of a healthy, fulfilling life––and Medicaid gives many people this chance. We urge the House to stop this rushed process and to reject changes to Medicaid that limit access to lifesaving care for their constituents."
The recently passed budget bill took a long road to getting passed through the House and the Senate. The House initially voted on the bill back in May. At that point, it was sent to the Senate, where it was debated and altered before being sent back to the House. It will need to be signed by President Trump before it becomes law.
NAMI had launched a campaign called Protect Medicaid, Protect Mental Health in an effort to pressure Congress against making the cuts.2 Despite contacting representatives over 150,000 times, it does not appear that the campaign was a success.
NAMI first commented on the bill back in May. At the time, Gillison, Jr, said, “Millions of people will lose their health care coverage under the House of Representatives' budget reconciliation bill, including many with mental health conditions. Medicaid is the backbone of our country's mental health system, paying for roughly one quarter of the country's mental health and substance use care and covering one in three people with a mental illness. Cutting hundreds of billions of dollars from Medicaid will undoubtedly hurt millions of Americans and keep far too many from getting the mental health services they need and deserve."
Wesolowski also said at the time, “We are deeply concerned that half of the House would back a bill that so clearly harms people with mental illness—including many in their own districts. There is nothing beautiful about cutting off millions of Americans from life-saving health care coverage and food assistance. We fervently hope that the Senate will reject these cuts and protect access to these life-saving programs. NAMI will keep fighting to protect Medicaid and protect mental health care."
