Originally published as a Letter to the Editor in the Wichita Eagle on April 5, 2013. Reprinted here from a copy of the letter submitted.
As director of a private practice serving people with mental-health and substance-abuse disorders, I am alarmed that the Legislature may refuse Medicaid funding to support this badly needed treatment.
There is growing national awareness of the need for mental-health treatment in lieu of incarceration for people with mental illnesses and addictions, and that treatment rather than incarceration would benefit both the economy and public safety. Medicaid funding is a smart and, ultimately, more economical way to make this possible.
We have an opportunity to make a smart choice by accepting this funding, especially considering current state budgetary constraints. Not only would the huge costs incurred with arrest, trial and imprisonment of people with mental illnesses and drug addiction be alleviated, but people could more readily be returned to productive lives in the community. Let’s leave aside political differences here and make some smart choices for our state.
In short, if the Medicaid funding is not accepted and used wisely, we will be, as the saying goes, “dollar-wise and pound-foolish.” For the sake of all Kansans, let us choose wisely on this question.
