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Replacing vital federal pandemic relief funding for local programs tops Texas lawmakers’ mental health to-do list next year as it also addresses 988 suicide hotline staffing shortages, mental health in schools and workforce recovery may be mentioned.
Texas Comptroller Glenn Hegar predicted the state would have a $20 billion surplus when the 2025 session begins on Jan. 14. States have deep pockets, but competing priorities such as tuition assistance, campus safety and resolving Medicaid enrollment issues could reduce available funding. For mental health.
Compounding funding needs is the December 31 deadline for federal COVID-19 relief funds earmarked to pay for a wide range of initiatives, including addressing community health and infrastructure needs. It’s broken.
The $350 billion program, part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, awarded states $203.4 million in mental health grants and an additional $252.8 million in substance abuse prevention and treatment grants. .
Funded mental health programs included telepsychiatry programs in schools and libraries, community mental health programs in churches, and peer-to-peer services that allow people to practice mental health in the community without a degree.
These programs have helped alleviate the effects of workforce shortages for mental health providers across the state, which have created long waiting lists for services.
“There is no formal funding option to replace the American Rescue Plan Act,” said Alison Mohr Boulware, director of mental health policy at the Hogg Foundation. “Many stakeholders and advocates are sounding the alarm about what will happen if the funding is not replaced.”
When this funding ends and a new presidential administration takes office, Texas lawmakers will have to decide overnight how to replace this funding, while also supporting existing efforts such as the Texas Child Psychiatric Consortium. Funding must also be maintained. Our mission is to improve the youth mental health care system. This effort was also significantly supported by the COVID-19 Relief Fund.
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“The Texas Legislature has made historic, lifesaving investments in mental health over the past decade,” said Andy Keller, president and CEO of the Meadows Institute for Mental Health Policy. . “The 89th Congress provides an opportunity to further strengthen that effort.”
Lawmakers have already introduced dozens of bills to address mental health ahead of the legislative session. Here’s something worth noting.
Other Medicaid providers
The federal government has designated more than 95% of Texas’ 254 counties, in whole or in part, as mental health professional shortage areas, and the impact is most pronounced in rural, border, and remote counties.
The problem is even worse for people on Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income people.
SB 469 would allow social workers with master’s degrees who are awaiting clinical licensure to treat Medicaid patients. Social workers are often the first point of contact for many people seeking mental health help.
Social workers in Texas who have earned a master’s degree and are working toward clinical licensure cannot claim Medicaid until they complete two years of supervision by a qualified clinician. If this restriction were lifted, more than 1,500 licensed master’s level social workers could be quickly added to the Medicaid program.
“This is really a workforce priority,” Boulware said.
HB 154 also could add more Medicaid providers to the roster by increasing Medicaid reimbursement rates for mental health and substance use services. In Texas, Medicaid pays between $60 and $122 for a 50-minute session with a therapist, and you can be charged more than $180 for the visit. This, among other factors, has led to more mental health providers in Texas no longer accepting Medicaid.
SB 176 would also allow schools to bill Medicaid to provide behavioral health services on campus, creating new options for receiving care for children enrolled in the health insurance program. It will be.
988 Funding
The 988 Suicide Hotline has a multi-million dollar shortfall, so SB 188 would establish a trust fund to support the program.
When dialing 988, callers are connected to a crisis counselor regardless of their location. Since opening in 2022, Texas’ five call centers have received more than 380,000 calls, making them the second-highest number of calls in the nation, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Texas. One-third of these occurred between January and June of this year.
The system’s financial needs far exceed the available funds. In fiscal year 2024, the state allocated $14 million through grants to 988 projects. However, in 2023, operating costs for the five 988 centers in Texas are projected to be $21 million.
The trust fund will model how states help fund 911 call centers.
Mental health at school
Texas school districts have been plagued by high chronic absenteeism rates since the COVID-19 pandemic.
One in five Texas students was considered chronically absent (defined as absent for at least 10% of the school year) in the 2022-23 school year, according to data collected by The Associated Press.
To address this issue, lawmakers have already introduced several bills for the upcoming session, including the nonprofit Community in Schools, which has made school districts the state’s largest provider of school-based behavioral health services. It obliges them to cooperate with the The organization’s reliance on it has forced its leaders to request a $10 million annual increase in state funding, specifically to support efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in Texas schools.
“Chronic absenteeism is just one part of a larger root cause, and one of those important root causes is the mental health and well-being of our students,” said Scott, CEO of North Texas School Communities. said one Tasha Moore.
Professor Moore said the spike in chronic absenteeism was linked to undiagnosed mental health issues among students and their inability to develop social skills when schools were closed during the pandemic. said.
Communities In Schools has achieved positive results in its efforts to reduce chronic absenteeism in the South Plains region. Over the past five years, an average of 83% of case-managed students who require attendance intervention have shown improvement and consistently attend school on time.
Officials at the organization believe these results can be replicated across the state.
Another step that could help young people’s mental health is HB 1594, which would require health insurance plans to provide full coverage to anyone under 26 who experiences mental illness for the first time. The plan should also include services such as psychotherapy, medication management, family support, and casework.
Lysette Galvan, public policy director for the National Alliance on Mental Illness of Texas, said that to truly help at-risk youth, states need to ensure that commercial insurance can pay for all of these services. , said that this has not yet happened.
Another notable youth mental health bill, by Rep. Jared Patterson, R-Frisco, would ban minors from creating accounts on social media sites and require age verification for new users. is. This is among other measures to curb the prevalence of cyberbullying, pornographic images and online exploitation among young people, especially in schools.
drug abuse
Rep. Erin Zwiener (D-Driftwood) filed HB 1496, reinstating last Congress’ bill to legalize test strips that can detect fentanyl in drugs. Synthetic opioids are causing a spike in overdose deaths because drug users often don’t know that the drugs they’re ingesting and buying illegally contain fentanyl. It is said to be the cause of
Drug policy experts say providing test strips to users and giving them a chance to avoid a fatal overdose opens the door to ongoing care that could help them wean themselves off drugs. It states that it will be possible.
Traditionally, tough-on-crime Republicans often argue that such moves, such as legalizing fentanyl test strips and syringe-exchange services, are aimed at minimizing harm to drug addicts. I have been opposing this because I am concerned that it will
But in recent years, an alarming rise in opioid-related deaths has led more Republicans like Mr. Abbott to support protections for people who continue to use drugs.
Boulware said another step in addressing Texas’ drug use problem would be to ensure that individuals who witness someone else overdosing will not face criminal charges if they call law enforcement. He said the goal is to improve the current “Good Samaritan” law. As of December, no legislation has been introduced to address this issue.
