Maryland behavioral health advocates balk at more than $100 million in proposed cuts
BALTIMORE — Maryland behavioral health advocates are urging Gov. Wes Moore and lawmakers to restore more than $116 million in proposed budget cuts to mental health services, warning that the reductions could hurt a wide swath of programs.
The largest behavioral health cut under Moore's proposed fiscal 2026 budget, about $90 million, would reduce the funding provided for school behavioral health services through the Blueprint for Maryland's Future, the state's education reform plan, from $130 million to $40 million annually — a 70% cut.
'This cut would be devastating to the schools and the jurisdictions across the state that worked so hard to just get these programs up and running just last year, and even more devastating to the students that are benefiting from the services,' said Dan Martin, senior director of public policy for the Mental Health Association of Maryland.
Nearly 18% of Maryland high school students have seriously considered suicide, according to a recent Maryland Youth Risk Behavior Survey and Youth Tobacco Survey.
Another service that could be impacted is the 988 suicide and mental health crisis helpline.
Last year, the General Assembly passed legislation to create a permanent funding source for the 988 helpline through a monthly 25-cent fee on Marylanders' cellphone bills. The proposed fiscal 2026 budget, however, would not allocate the dedicated revenues from that charge to support the crisis line, which answered more than 8,000 calls in December alone, said Michelle Grigsby-Hackett, CEO of The Sante Group, a community behavioral health provider.
'The calls will go unanswered or have significant delays being answered,' she said. 'We will lose staffing — critical, highly trained crisis counselors. Emergency departments that already have high wait times in the nation will continue to be overwhelmed, and Marylanders will begin turning to 911 to get help for their mental health crisis.'
For some, the crisis line makes all the difference. Nearly a year ago, Gus Hughes was homeless and resourceless.
'I had lost my psychiatrist, I had lost my therapist, I lost my primary care. I couldn't get my meds refilled, I couldn't see my therapist,' Hughes said at a news conference Tuesday. 'And because of that, I ended up turning to 988, and that genuinely saved my life.'
Del. Jessica Feldmark, a Howard County Democrat who sponsored the 988 funding legislation last year, said lawmakers had anticipated the revenues being available, but that money wasn't set aside in the budget.
'If it's not appropriated, even if the revenue comes in, then we can't spend it,' she said. 'We want to make sure that we are utilizing the decision we already made to use that fee for this critical service.'
Advocates and lawmakers are also urging restoration of certified community behavioral health clinics. This year's Budget Reconciliation and Financing Act removes the requirement that Maryland Department of Health apply for federal grants related to the clinics in fiscal 2025 and 2026, according to fiscal analysts with the Department of Legislative Services.
'Existing [certified community behavioral health clinics] would lose their funding if we do not act now,' said Adrienne Breidenstine, vice president of policy and communications at Behavioral Health System Baltimore.
Also recommended in Moore's budget is a 1% rate increase for behavioral health providers. Though budget analysts have suggested removing the increase, said Shannon Hall, executive director of the Community Behavioral Health Association of Maryland, advocates are pushing for it to strengthen the workforce for the immediate and more distant future.
The possibility of additional cuts to the state budget, as well as uncertainty at the federal level, could make restoration of the funding difficult though.
'There are a lot of unknowns right now, but we can only deal with what we do know and do the best we can. It's a challenge all the way around,' said Sen. Shelly Hettleman, a Baltimore County Democrat. 'There are these cuts, there are other cuts that I know that we are very interested in restoring, and at the same time, we have to make sure that we're providing the services that Marylanders expect and need, and certainly prioritize those that are most vulnerable among us.'
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