Congress is searching for ways to cut $1.5 trillion in federal spending – with cuts to federal Medicaid funding expected to likely to be roughly half of the total amount. If these cuts are allowed to occur, it would be more difficult, or impossible, for countless individuals to access the mental health care they rely on through Medicaid.

That’s why Congress needs to hear from you: policymakers must protect Medicaid and protect mental health.

Medicaid is a public health insurance program that covers more than 72 million people, including many people with mental health and substance use conditions, who make up roughly 40% of non-elderly adults on Medicaid. Medicaid plays a vital role in the lives of people with mental health and substance use conditions, providing access to important services like psychotherapy, inpatient treatment, peer support, crisis care, and medication, when needed. Cuts to Medicaid would make many of those services inaccessible to the people who need them most.

Big cuts to federal funding for Medicaid wouldn’t save money; it would just shift the costs to the entire community and delay or stop people from getting necessary mental health and substance use care. When people lose access to health care coverage and mental health care, the costs shift to our communities by pushing people with mental illness into emergency rooms, hospitals, and jails – instead of connecting people to the lifesaving care they need and deserve.

We cannot let Congress cut access to mental health and substance use care for millions of people. Can we count on you to join mental health advocates across the country to urge Congress to protect Medicaid?