HHS awards grant to promote better primary care services for mentally-ill patients

Secretary of Health and Human Services Kathleen Sebelius today awarded more than $26.2 million in grants to support and promote better primary care and behavioral health services for individuals with mental illnesses or substance use disorders. The majority of the grants are funded by the Affordable Care Act's Prevention and Public Health Fund to improve health status by improving the coordination of healthcare services delivered in publicly funded community mental health and other community-based behavioral health settings.

"These awards represent a long overdue investment in the health of some of our most vulnerable populations," said Sebelius. "The long-established split between "mental" and "physical" health is not justified in research and should not be perpetuated in health care. These grants are part of an unprecedented push by the Affordable Care Act to help prevent and reduce chronic disease and promote wellness by treating behavioral health needs with equality to other health conditions."

The grants include up to $20.9 million to help 43 community behavioral health agencies integrate primary care into their services. Up to $500,000 per year will be available for four years to each grantee, depending on the availability of funds, need and the progress achieved by the grantee.

The National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, Washington D.C., will receive the remaining $5.3 million in grant funds to establish a national resource center dedicated to integrating primary and behavioral health care. The center, which will be funded jointly by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) and the Health Resources Services Administration (HRSA), will provide training and technical assistance to community behavioral health programs, community health centers and other primary care organizations. The center will also help develop models of integrated care. From these models both primary and behavioral health care practitioners can learn to address the comprehensive health needs of patients no matter where individuals obtain care.

"People with mental illnesses and substance abuse disorders often have elevated rates of multiple chronic conditions including hypertension, diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease. All too often these health conditions are made worse by lack of physical activity, poor nutrition, smoking, and by the side effects of psychotropic medications," said SAMHSA Administrator Pamela S. Hyde, J.D. "Many of these health conditions are preventable through routine health promotion activities, primary care screening, monitoring, treatment and care management. Bringing needed healthcare services to patients in a coordinated and convenient way can go a long way in helping to improve health status."

"We at HRSA believe that this cooperative agreement with SAMHSA will help us to fulfill the patient care mission of safety net providers - including mental health and substance abuse services. HRSA supports the work of Community Health Centers across the Nation, assuring that patients living with mental health or substance abuse concerns can get the screening, treatment and referral for all their health care needs," said Mary K. Wakefield, Ph.D., R.N., Administrator of HRSA. "As Health Centers and other safety net providers work to meet the full range of patient health care needs, HRSA wants to assure that technical assistance and training are available to support those efforts."