What mental health funding cuts could mean for people seeking support

At the end of the year approaches, concerns are growing over potential cuts to mental health services and what they could mean for people who rely on that care. Advocates are warning that reduced funding could even create even more barriers for those seeking support. And joining us now to discuss those concerns in an upcoming mental health awareness forum in Chicago is mental health advocate Dr. Twin Green. Thank you so much for joining us this morning. Thank you for having me back. Yeah, I'm happy that you're back. Talk about these cuts. You know, a lot of funding cuts we're expecting to come down. at the beginning of the year. In terms of mental health, what are you expecting to see here? This is a very critical time. Thank Having people that normally would have access to health care, and we're talking about health care primarily, you at risk of losing that. For nearly 700,000 people for that right now are enrolled in Medicaid your for health care coverage, we'll have a risk of losing that coverage. time. Which is critical, being able to go to the doctor when you need to, go to the emergency room when you need to, receive mental health services when you need to, and or buy food when you need to. So there are these new work limits that are put on Medicare recipients. Have you found in working with this population that they are overtly made aware that they're going to be dropped, the coverage could be dropped, and that they are clear on what the new requirements are? Absolutely not. That is the part that is really disheartening because most people that need the coverage are unaware of what is about to happen to them. So that's where our agencies and other agencies have been asked. Since February, we've gotten this information back in February that this was coming and we had to prepare and we're still preparing because effective January 1st is when these cuts are going to happen to people. And by March of 2027. You could be dropped off the roll completely. What do you say to those people that, based on what Natalie asked, that may be unaware, what should they know? What is like maybe the top two things that they need to know that they are completely oblivious of? They need to know whether or not their information is correct in the health care portal. If you have applied for Medicaid insurance, benefit insurance years ago and have moved, that information may not be correct. You will not know that you need to renew at this point. And in six months, you will have to do this every six months. So you need to know what the state knows about you. That's critical. You mentioned portal. What is the web address of that portal? Where do people need to go to check? Check HFS. Go to hhealthcarefamilieservices.com. Okay. Talk about this forum and really maybe the gap that you're trying to bridge here for people that will be impacted by this. So on November 13th, and thank you for being our emcee for this wonderful event, we are hosting a mobile mental health. Equity Initiative, and this initiative is bringing together stakeholders, community stakeholders, government entities, corporations, so that we can help to transform the way that we provide health care, and health care is given to people. In the state of Illinois, predominantly right now, we're looking at the South Side and the South Suburban Cook County region. But this is critical because our health care system is fragmented as it is right now. And we need to look at how we can improve. Client-centered care and how providers are connecting and coordinating the care that we are responsible for providing to people in a better way. So this is new for the state of Illinois. Illinois, and we're... Extremely excited. Good. I have found personally, and I don't know if Tia has had the same experience, but no matter what level of income you are, no matter your demographic, you have problems with the healthcare system. I mean, you ask anybody, they've got a story. And I know that it's more predominant in certain neighborhoods that just don't have access. So if someone is watching at home and they, maybe one of the concerns is, I don't know if I'm gonna have Medicaid coverage. Who can they turn to to help them walk through the process? They need to call the Lincoln Options Center. 708-331-8111, and let us help you navigate that system. Tell us how you walk people through it, because like Natalie was saying, some people have no clue. They don't, and so there is a screener that is a part of the portal that I spoke of earlier. So there is a screener that asks about... Your education, your work history, your income, you know, all of those questions are asked in this screener and it validates your ability to be eligible for redetermination. I'll just put it there. It's redetermination. And that is the big key word for this health care crisis that we are finding ourselves in right now. But if you do not know what you need to do, you need to call. 708-331-8111, and I will help you navigate that process. What is your biggest fear? People are cut off. Maybe they are getting therapy. Maybe they need their medication. And maybe out of the blue, because maybe in some cases they didn't know that this was going to happen. They're not aware. They're cut off. What's your biggest fear? The biggest fear that people will not have their medication. They're already... On psychotropic medications that they need daily, if that is interrupted, what do you think is going to happen to these people? That's a big concern, not being able to have health care. Accessible to you, get your medications refilled as you need to, because every 30 days you need to have this regulated medication. If you do not have that, no way to get it. That is going to send you into a crisis that we do not want to have happen. But that is where we're headed. Yeah, I was going to say, and we saw some of this under Governor Rauner at the time, because we do know that a lot of mental health services were cut. And we're still kind of catching up as a result of some of those cuts. We lost a lot of providers during the Rauner administration. And, you know, those that are still standing are really, it's far and few between. And there is a lot of people that we need to manage and make sure that they have accessible health care not determined by their zip code. By the way, I know we have to wrap here, but that redetermination, that keyword, I was unaware of that until I did research for today's interview, that you have to check in every six months, beginning next year in order to continue to be eligible for the Medicaid services. And if you don't know what to do, then you will automatically be dropped from your care. Wow. Yeah. Well, hopefully some people get the message and heard our interview. Dr. Twingreen, thank you for the work that you're doing. Thank you so much for having me. All right.