Mental Health Care Is an Overlooked Need in North Carolina Medicaid Expansion Debates

Advocates for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina have the opportunity to add a new and urgent argument to their already robust arsenal – that Medicaid expansion will create a newly affordable option for thousands of individuals with mental health needs who currently cannot afford treatment.

The North Carolina Medicaid Expansion Coalition – a collection of progressive groups including Planned Parenthood South Atlantic, the League of Women Voters of North Carolina, and the NAACP, among others – is fervently pushing back against a North Carolina legislature that has repeatedly declined expanding Medicaid to 500,000 would-be-eligible North Carolinians. Debates have focused on the high out-of-pocket prices required of uninsured patients for physical conditions like heart disease, asthma, musculoskeletal problems, or cancer, as well as the millions in federal money being turned away every year that North Carolina decides not to expand. In this high-profile role, coalitions also have the opportunity shed light on the devastating effects of untreated mental illness and the relief that Medicaid expansion could bring to 190,000 uninsured North Carolinians with mental health conditions.

In 2009, 75 percent of individuals with mental health needs in North Carolina were left untreated. Early intervention for mental illness can improve a patient’s physical and emotional wellbeing and can prevent destructive consequences for themselves, their families, and their communities in the future. Medicaid expansion will allow individuals to be secure in their access to primary mental health care and reduce their utilization of the emergency room when they experience an acute episode or when their chronic conditions become too debilitating.

Mental illness disproportionately affects individuals with lower family incomes, the same families who are most impacted by Medicaid expansion. States that have expanded Medicaid have seen pent up demand for mental health care, indicating a high need for mental health care among newly eligible Medicaid beneficiaries.

North Carolina has the capacity to accommodate newly eligible individuals who seek treatment for mental illnesses given that only 11 of North Carolina’s 100 counties are considered to have a shortage of mental health providers. While systems will need to expand to meet the demand from new patients, North Carolina can be an example for turning the challenge of Medicaid expansion into an asset for increased access to health care among its most vulnerable residents.

Advocates for Medicaid expansion in North Carolina have already made great strides in swaying reluctant legislators to consider the issue in 2015. In the most recent election debates, Republican Senator Thom Tillis agreed that the state of North Carolina is trending in a direction that warrants discussions about Medicaid expansion. In January, Governor Pat McCrory met with President Obama and several other Republican state leaders to discuss the adaptability of Health and Human Services waivers to state-developed Medicaid expansion plans. And just last week, thousands of North Carolina residents marched at the ninth annual Historic Thousands on Jones Street (HKonJ) Moral March in Raleigh, hoping to influence legislators to consider Medicaid expansion.

Legislators need to take significant steps to reform mental health care both in North Carolina and across the nation. The North Carolina Medicaid Expansion Coalition, mental health providers and advocacy groups, and others supporters can work together with the legislature to make affordable mental health care a reality for low-income individuals and families. North Carolina cannot wait until the system is perfect to implement changes that can improve the mental health of its residents and the economic wellbeing of the state.