Comprehensive Funding Is Imperative to Sustain Programs That Make a Difference

You can’t pick up a paper, turn on a television or radio, go online or check social media without seeing news about the opioid crisis. It is a metaphor for all substance use disorders and mental illnesses – not only because they are all highly prevalent, but also because they are commonly concurrent. While there has been investment in certain programs and that is positive, more funding is always needed. Good quality care does not come without a cost.

Funding in the state and federal budgets needs to be greatly expanded. It is imperative to have robust, continuous funding to sustain programs to make a difference.

New Jersey’s mental healthcare and substance use disorder treatment providers are going into the third year of fee-for-service reimbursement with a significant gap. In addition, it is uncertain whether federal funding for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics will continue and the state needs to have a contingency plan in place in case the federal funding does end.

We are seeing increasing numbers of deaths, most notably from opioid overdoses and suicide in New Jersey and across the U.S. Simply put, this is not acceptable.

According to the New Jersey Department of Health’s (DOH’s) Opioid Data Dashboard, there were steady and significant increases in deaths due to fentanyl (from fewer than 200 in 2012 to more than 1,400 in 2017) and heroin (from 500 in 2012 to 1,600 in 2017) and the number of deaths due to any type of drug increased from more than 1,000 individuals in 2012 to more than 4,000 people in 2017. DOH suspects that 3,118 deaths that occurred in 2018 and an additional 2,167 from January through September 2019 were due to drugs.

In New Jersey, on average, one person dies by suicide every 11 hours, according to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. It is the second leading cause of death among New Jersey residents aged 15-24; the third leading cause among 25- to 34-year-olds; and the fourth leading cause among those between 35 and 54 years of age.

A report recently published on nj.com highlighted the significant increases in suicides among teens and young adults. In 2017, one hundred 15- to 24-year-old New Jersey residents died by suicide; by comparison, 60 youth and young adults took their lives in 1999. There has also been a disturbing increase in attempted overdoses among 9- through 12-year-olds in the state.

Tremendous progress has been made in the treatment of HIV, cancer and heart disease, enabling individuals to live with these illnesses for many years and often with a high quality of life. People acknowledge mental health and substance use disorders are the same as physical illnesses, but without substantial investment into research and services for prevention, treatment and other supports, the same type of progress will not be made.

What this means is despite all positive steps we have made, stigma still surrounds these illnesses and is creating barriers and this is reflected in the inadequate funding. With comprehensive funding across the board to ensure access to treatment and supports for all types of illnesses, progress will start being made.