Last Updated on January 5, 2017 by Morris Green

Substance abuse treatment falls under the category of mental health, and if there’s one element of healthcare that has been wildly overlooked in the past, it’s mental health. Stigma has smothered a growing epidemic of mental illnesses that impact quality of life. It’s more than just a blip on the heart monitor of life; it’s a full-blown alert signaling an imminent problem. Is NC budgeting enough for adequate substance abuse treatment?

According to DrugAbuse.gov, substance abuse treatment is notably inexpensive in comparison to incarceration. One year of methadone treatment averages $4,700 per patient versus one year of prison occupancy costing taxpayers $24,000 per inmate. That’s a $19,300 difference. Imagine if we could transition just 25 percent of the individuals imprisoned due to their addiction from jail to a treatment program capable of breaking the cycle of addiction and crime?

As recently as April 2016, Governor Pat McCrory prioritized the state’s health and human services budget. His mental health budget called for $30 million in funding, and $3 million of that budget was earmarked to create “emergency and transitional housing for people with mental health and substance use problems…transitioning out of prisons, jails, and other institutions.”

“Putting an addict in prison accomplishes nothing,” says McCrory, a statement that mirrors the proven fact of substance use treatment trumping prison. But is McCrory’s budget big enough?

Treatment Has To Start Somewhere

Something is always better than nothing, or so the adage goes. In 2015, Governor McCrory’s proposed budget saw major cuts from the legislature when $10 million were trimmed from the fund dedicated to the North Carolina’s mental health managed care organizations. What happened to the 2016-2017 fiscal year budget? According to McCrory’s official Twitter, as of July when the official budget was signed:

Our new budget also invests $20 million to implement strategies to address NCs mental health & substance use challenges #ncpol #ncgov #ncpol

— Pat McCrory (@PatMcCroryNC) July 14, 2016

The numbers show another year of $10 million cuts, but the fact that funding is being dedicated to mental health and substance use is positive. After all, treatment has to start somewhere.

Putting Your Tax Dollars to Productive Use

Where taxpayer dollars go is a topic of big debate, and health care is an even bigger, more controversial subject. INDY Week covered the budget slashes to mental health funding in NC, noting that the cuts to substance abuse treatment, in particular, are “cushioned” by a greater focus on the big picture. Says INDY Week:

“Case in point: Senate budget writers sought to soften the blow of closing three substance abuse centers by allotting $30 million of the $88.5 million in savings for unspecified community-oriented treatment options. However…such options are not suitable for the intensive, in-patient services that are sometimes needed.”

With North Carolina in the throes of a heroin epidemic that is recognized on a national level, there’s definitely cause for concern. Advocating for the productive use of tax dollars to support substance use treatment programs is perhaps more important now than ever, especially as we close in on a new year and a new budget.