by As a parent of a freshman at Michigan State University and a sophomore at the University of Michigan, my kids and I received emails about where individuals can get support. The same support is found in most communities across the state.
However, many residents who need treatment for mental health or substance use do not have prompt access to it due to increased needs for behavioral health care and staff shortages, particularly in rural and urban areas. A recent report by the MI Behavioral Health & Wellness Collaborative and Public Sector Consultants looked at the unmet behavioral health needs in Wayne County and found huge gaps between needs and actual care.
Unmet need refers to a person’s perceived need for mental health treatment or counseling without receiving care. Among adults who need mental health or care, some groups are more likely to face barriers to access care, including uninsured people, underinsured people. Unmet needs for mental health treatments and drug use will increase significantly over the next three years as mental illness has worsened and barriers to accessing healthcare have worsened.
The CDC is finding an increase in mental health problems among boys and girls in high school. A 2019 study by Altarum found that approximately 1.76 million people in Michigan (adults and children) have a mental illness and 38 percent have an unmet need for behavioral health services. You probably know one of these people.
Mental health must become a priority at Lansing. From the schoolhouse to the boardroom to our living room, we’ve all felt the impact of a behavioral health system that needs support to bring about systemic change.
To fill Michigan’s unmet need, we must first stabilize the workforce and create a pipeline of future workers. Proposed increases in direct wages for caregivers will help, as will bursaries. But it won’t solve the problem nonprofit providers face in competing with hospitals, private providers, school districts, and their funding CMHs/PHIPs, who pay upwards of $10,000 for similar work. Instead, the state should set up a fund to provide scholarships for internships in marginalized and rural communities.
To ensure people get the care they need, we must also provide equal access to care and treatment. For example, if we want to promote equitable access to Medicaid services, the reimbursement rate should increase and keep pace with the pace of the economy. The tariffs should also be uniform nationwide.
To improve access, strengthen the workforce, and create a new pipeline of talent, we encourage lawmakers to introduce legislation aligned with Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHC), advocated by Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D- Lansing. Supporting the CCBHC model would help create a more consistent funding model that expands access and ensures providers are funded for costs, including salaries and benefits, to address labor shortages and provide equitable access for customers.
Resolving the mental health crisis requires system-wide change to break the cycle of people with unmet needs crowding our homeless shelters, overcrowding our prisons, and visiting our emergency rooms. When people have access to community mental health services, the system works. They get the care they deserve, the treatment they need, and the support that leads to successful outcomes. We must break down barriers to entry, stabilize the workforce and create uniform standards and remuneration rates for providers. Mental health is complicated, but it’s not impossible that it works for everyone who needs our care.
Daniel Cherrin is President of North Coast Strategies and Senior Facilitator of the MI Behavior Health & Wellness Collaborative.
