Florida is facing a real crisis in mental health care. Send a letter to House Speaker Crisafulli today and urge him to make mental health funding a priority this legislative session by closing the coverage gap.
Florida is facing a real crisis in mental health care. Instead of receiving the care they need, many of Florida’s mentally ill are often jailed only to be released and incarcerated again in an endless cycle. Years of unnecessary cuts and Florida’s near last place ranking among states for mental health funding has compounded the problem. We need your help to raise this issue with legislative leadership so action will be taken.
Mental health funding for state psychiatric hospitals has been cut by approximately $100 million over the past seven years. These cuts and the refusal to close the coverage gap hurts all Floridians, but especially those with mental illness. Closing the coverage gap by accepting $51 billion in federal funding for Medicaid expansion would allow many to receive the coverage they need while freeing up state and local tax dollars for better care and services along with other health priorities.
We must take advantage of this rare opportunity to increase access to mental health services by closing the coverage gap.
Finally closing the gap would have a number of major benefits for Florida: providing nearly 600,000 hardworking Floridians with health coverage, creating new jobs, and freeing up local and state tax dollars for better care across the board.
Thanks for raising your voice for health security for all Floridians.