ACEP Raises Alarm Over Abrupt Termination of SAMHSA Grants, Warning of Increased Strain on America’s Emergency Care Safety Net

WASHINGTON, DC- The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP) is deeply concerned with the sudden termination of an estimated $2 billion in Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) grants supporting critical community-based mental health and substance use disorder services nationwide.

Emergency departments (EDs) serve as the health care system's 24/7 safety net-often the only place people can turn during a mental health or substance use crisis, including suicidal ideation, overdose, severe withdrawal, and acute psychiatric emergencies.

"Every day and every shift, in just about every ED across the country, emergency physicians and ED teams care for patients experiencing behavioral health and substance use emergencies; often in communities without the capacity or resources to meet their needs in more appropriate settings," said L. Anthony Cirillo, MD, FACEP, President of ACEP. "These abrupt cuts threaten to dismantle the fragile continuum of care that helps people access treatment early and stay connected to services. The predictable result is more patients in crisis, longer waits for care, even more prolonged ED boarding, and a deeper strain on the emergency care safety net that every community and our nation's safety and security depend on."

"Emergency care cannot replace the community-based behavioral health system, nor should it have to," Dr. Cirillo added. "We urge the Administration to reverse these terminations immediately and work with Congress, states, clinicians, and community providers to strengthen-not hinder-access to mental health and substance use disorder services. Lives depend on it."