Missouri has received almost $6 million in federal funding to expand mental health and substance use disorder services.
The full $240 million in federal funding will launch and expand such services to over 400 community health centers across the nation, 10 of which are in Missouri, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA).
These health centers are community providers and a primary source of care for individuals who are uninsured, underinsured or enrolled in Medicaid, according to the news release.
The grants from HHS will help expand access to the health centers' care to help tackle the nation's mental health and opioid crises.
Carole Johnson, the HRSA administrator, made the announcement Thursday at the Mental Health America Conference in Washington, D.C., of which thousands of people attended.
A 2024 report by Mental Health America demonstrates the need for this expansion of services, finding that the vast majority of people with a substance use disorder in the U.S. are not receiving treatment. One in five youth had at least one major depressive episode in the last year, while 10% of adults and 8.5% of youth have private insurance that does not cover mental health, according to the report.
“Access to behavioral health care is critical for communities of color and underserved groups,” HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra said. “HRSA-funded health centers have a proven record of success in reaching underserved communities. This funding expands their access to essential behavioral health services that will benefit entire communities.”
Mental health and substance use disorder services in all 1,400 HRSA-supported health centers throughout the U.S. serve more than 31 million people total, according to the news release.
When it comes to mental health workforce availability in the state of Missouri, there is a ratio of 430 patients to one mental health provider, according to the report.
Currently, health centers are only able to meet about 27% of the demand for mental health services and 6% of the substance use disorder treatment demand among their patients, according to the news release.
