Republican Party to Cut Funding to Mental Health and Addiction Services

Currently, any American suffering from a mental health disorder or a type of substance abuse is covered by Medicaid, which basically means that their medication and treatment are subsidised by the government to make it affordable. 8 million people receive treatment under Medicaid for mental health issues and 10.4 million for substance abuse issue, but in 2020, under the Republican Party, that seems to be all set to change.

The Party have confirmed that they plan to cut essential Medicaid funding for these issues as part of a budget reform.

The US is experiencing something of an epidemic, with the amount of people dying from drug-related illnesses increasing. It is argued that this cut in funding will only cause many more deaths, if people cannot access the treatment they need in order to aid their addiction.

In terms of mental health, the 8 million people that are covered by Medicaid will lose all coverage by 2020 and will either have to pay a significantly higher amount of money for their treatment or lose it altogether.

What’s worse is that there is currently nothing being founded by the Republican Party to replace the Medicaid coverage that supported all of these vulnerable people for years under Obama’s Government. However, 2020 is a long way away politically, so there is still hope yet that an even better coverage will be created for those that need it most.