"After a tense day of confusion and backroom negotiations, the Trump administration moved Wednesday night to restore roughly $2 billion in federal grant money for mental health and addiction programs nationwide. The money had been cut off late Tuesday without warning, sending shockwaves through a segment of the country's patchwork system of public health that relies on grant funding. "After a day of panic across the country, non-profits and people with mental health conditions are deeply alarmed, but also hopeful that this money is being restored," said Hannah Wesolowski with the National Alliance on Mental Illness. An administration official confirmed to NPR that the cuts, first announced by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), were being reversed."
"They asked not to be identified because they didn't have permission to speak publicly about the decision. They said all of the roughly 2,000 organizations affected by the whiplash series of events were being notified that full funding would be restored. NPR was unable to confirm who triggered the initial decision to terminate the grants by sending letters that abruptly signaled programs no longer "aligned" with the Trump administration's public health agenda. After sending the letters, officials at the Department of Health and Human Services and SAMHSA went silent, offering no clarification to health care providers or the public about what would happen next or where patients should go for care."
The administration moved to restore roughly $2 billion in federal grants for mental-health and addiction programs after those funds were abruptly cut off without warning. The sudden termination affected about 2,000 organizations and sent shockwaves through a patchwork public-health system that relies on grant funding. Officials initially sent letters saying programs no longer aligned with the administration's public health agenda and then provided little or no clarification. The silence and abrupt defunding provoked backlash from local officials and care providers who warned that essential safety-net and life-saving addiction services would be dismantled. Several large treatment providers expressed deep alarm and uncertainty about patient access.
Read at www.npr.org
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