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The Illinois Senate and House Mental Health and Addiction Joint
Committee has been holding a series of hearings to discuss
various aspects of funding and treatment.
State Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, D-Chicago, said it may be time for
Illinois government to get out of the way so that treatment
providers can do their jobs more easily.
“When we talk about the administrative burden, I like to use the
term red tape because it is something the public can better
identify with,” said LaPointe. “What are those burdens, why do
they exist, what purpose do they serve?”
With a forecast of a lean state budget in the next fiscal year,
Illinois lawmakers are hearing from interested parties on the
treatment of mental health and substance abuse and the future of
funding.
Despite warnings of financial cutbacks due to an anticipated
budget deficit, state Rep. Camille Lilly, D-Chicago, is talking
about expanding substance abuse treatment programs.
“I’d like to know a little bit more of what expansion looks
like, so that everybody has access to these services,” said
Lilly.
Adriana Trino from the Latino Treatment Center said expansion
isn’t going to happen anytime soon.
“It’s hard to expand when you can’t even retain your
counselors,” said Trino. “Like I said, $35,000 to $40,000 for a
bilingual, Masters level counselor is rough.”
Other hearings dealt with issues such as high workforce
turnover, Medicaid reimbursement rates and budget limitations.
It is estimated that over $770 million of opioid settlement
money will go to the Remediation Fund, which will be used for
substance abuse programs.
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