A shortage of psychiatrists and addiction counselors could stymie the Biden administration’s plan to expand mental health care.
The Department of Health and Human Services moved to expand Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics to all 50 states last week. The enhanced clinics offer coordinated mental and physical health services and substance use treatment, all reimbursed by Medicaid.
They need psychiatrists for adults and children, social workers, nurses and counselors to provide those services, a median of 43 workers per clinic, according to data collected from demonstration clinics in ten states.
An agency study suggests it’ll be tough to find psychiatrists and addiction counselors who specialize in treating adults.
By 2030, HHS projects:
- A 20 percent decrease in psychiatrists for adult patients against a 3 percent increase in demand for their services
- A 3 percent