US EditionThe fate of addiction treatment hangs in the balance with Kennedy's HHS overhaul
- Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s plan for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services involves a proposed overhaul that includes absorbing the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration into a new Administration for a Healthy America .
- SAMHSA, created by Congress in 1992 with a budget of $8 billion and more than 700 staffers, plays a crucial role in addressing the mental health, overdose, and suicide crises by funding the 988 crisis line, naloxone distribution, and addiction treatment.
- HHS announced on Thursday, March 27, a plan to reorganize functions and reduce the workforce by approximately 25%, or 10,000 full-time employees, which includes moving SAMHSA under the AHA umbrella along with five other agencies and co-locating its staff with those responsible for chemical exposures and work-related injuries.
- While some, including HHS, argue that merging SAMHSA will increase operational efficiency, others like Stanford University addiction researcher Keith Humphreys believe closing SAMHSA is illegal and raises concerns about Kennedy's commitment to addiction and mental health treatment, noting that "burying the agency in an administrative blob with no clear purpose is not the way to highlight the problem or coordinate a response."
- Organizations like the National Alliance on Mental Illness and experts such as former White House drug czar Dr. Rahul Gupta express deep concern that these changes could disrupt progress in addressing mental health, substance use, and overdose deaths, potentially diminishing the availability of life-saving resources, especially as over 49,000 people died by suicide in 2023, although there was a 24% decrease in overdose deaths.
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San Diego Union Tribune
The fate of addiction treatment hangs in the balance with Kennedy’s HHS overhaul
By CARLA K. JOHNSON, Associated Press A little-known federal agency that touches the lives of people across the United States by funding the 988 crisis line, naloxone distribution and addiction treatment may be weakened and possibly eliminated in the proposed overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s plan, the $8 billion Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, or …
Associated Press News
The fate of addiction treatment hangs in the balance with Kennedy's HHS overhaul
The proposed overhaul of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services could weaken and possibly eliminate a little-known agency that's crucial in helping Americans who struggle with their mental health or with addiction.
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