A new federal investment in behavioral health care could remove some of the practical barriers that keep people from entering or remaining in substance use disorder treatment. Whether patients experience that improvement, however, will depend on how quickly grant recipients turn funding into appointments, medication access, transportation, coordinated handoffs, and sustained recovery support. The challenge is not identifying where the system fails. It is using the money to repair those gaps in ways patients can feel.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration recently announced more than $281 million in funding opportunities across 15 grant programs addressing addiction, overdose, mental illness, trauma, suicide prevention, and recovery. The largest allocation, $68.2 million, is designated for grants expanding access to medications for opioid use disorder.
For Justin Wroblewski, CEO of Milestone Treatment Center, the value of the investment will be measured less by the number of programs funded than by what changes when a person asks for help.
“The biggest impact patients should see is fewer roadblocks when it comes to receiving treatment,” Wroblewski says. “More funding typically means more counselors, which leads to shorter wait times and a greater chance of attending follow-ups after a patient has completed treatment.”
Removing the Barriers Around Medication
Medication can reduce opioid use and overdose risk, but its availability remains uneven.
“The biggest barrier to medication for opioid use is access to it,” Wroblewski explains. “There are a lot of people who might not have a car or transportation, aren’t able to take off work, or live in rural areas that make it hard for them to travel to visits to receive a prescription.”
Insurance delays, appointment shortages and pharmacy supply problems can add more friction. Stigma creates another barrier, particularly when patients or relatives view medication-assisted treatment as substituting one drug for another.
Wroblewski sees several practical uses for the new funding: training and hiring prescribers, expanding telehealth, offering same-day assessments and building stronger coordination among treatment centers, hospitals, pharmacies and community organizations.
“The goal should be to make medication available quickly, paired with appropriate counseling and support, and remove unnecessary barriers that cause patients to fall out of care,” he adds.
Reaching People Before the Crisis
Several grant programs support school-based mental health services, prevention, trauma care, public education and first-responder training.
“Often when people finally make it to a treatment center, they have been struggling for a while, and it has already begun to negatively impact their lives,” Wroblewski notes. “Prevention can get ahead of these things and get people help before things progress to an overdose, arrest, job loss or hospitalization.”
Schools are especially important because young people may not know how to describe what they are experiencing. Parents, meanwhile, can struggle to distinguish ordinary changes in adolescent behavior from signs of mental health or substance use problems.
First responders occupy a different but equally important point in the continuum. They frequently meet people during an overdose, psychiatric emergency or another moment of extreme vulnerability. Training can help them connect a person to treatment rather than resolve the immediate emergency and leave the underlying condition untouched.
“Treatment after a substance use disorder develops will always be essential, but we should not require people to reach their lowest point before support becomes available,” Wroblewski says.
Recognizing What Is Driving Substance Use
Earlier intervention requires more than a checklist. Sudden isolation, declining grades, missed work, disrupted sleep, mood changes, financial difficulties, changes in appearance and withdrawal from familiar activities can signal a developing problem.
“A lot of times, mental health and drug abuse overlap, and a lot of people use alcohol or other substances to help control anxiety, depression or trauma,” Wroblewski explains. “If we only focus on stopping the substance abuse and not the driver behind it, then we are missing a huge part of the problem.”
Families, educators and healthcare professionals also need to know how to begin a conversation without making the person retreat. Communities then need simple referral pathways so the person receiving that support knows where to call, what to expect and how soon care can begin.
“The easier it is to receive help, the more likely someone is to get it,” he adds.
Funding the Places Where Patients Get Stuck
Treatment organizations can ensure new funding reaches patients by examining every point where people wait, disengage or disappear from care.
Wroblewski recommends asking how quickly an initial call is answered, how long an assessment takes, whether staffing meets demand and what happens when someone leaves residential treatment or moves to a lower level of care.
“The best way to address these gaps is by hiring more intake coordinators, extending clinical hours, adding peer support or providing transportation options,” he says. “It could also mean investing in family services, case management and alumni programs.”
Continuity becomes especially important after program completion. Patients may still need help securing housing, finding employment, obtaining medication, managing mental health care and repairing relationships.
Providers should establish goals before spending grant money, Wroblewski argues. Useful targets could include reducing assessment waits, increasing attendance at follow-up appointments and decreasing the number of patients lost during transitions.
“Funding should address current patient problems, not simply create new programs or positions,” he notes.
Measuring Recovery Beyond Program Completion
Organizations should track how quickly people enter treatment after seeking help and whether they remain engaged at 30, 60, and 90 days.
Transitions deserve scrutiny. A discharge plan is only meaningful when a patient can carry it out.
“Did patients attend their first outpatient appointment after discharge? Were they connected to a primary care provider, therapist, recovery group or peer mentor? Did they continue taking prescribed medication?” Wroblewski asks. “Care after residential treatment is crucial to the longevity of recovery, and patients need a plan they can actually follow.”
Longer-term measures can include overdoses, emergency department visits, hospitalizations, employment and family functioning. No single number captures recovery, and progress will not look identical for every person. The larger question is whether patients are safer, healthier and increasingly able to participate in their lives.
Closing the Gap Between Readiness and Care
The most persistent access problem, according to Wroblewski, is the distance between recognizing a need and entering appropriate treatment. Rural patients may face hours of travel, scarce prescribers, and limited specialized mental health care. Uninsured and underinsured patients must navigate both capacity and cost. People with co-occurring disorders are often sent back and forth between addiction and mental health providers, although both conditions require coordinated treatment.
Emergency care presents another dangerous break. After an overdose reversal or psychiatric crisis, patients may leave with phone numbers and instructions to arrange their own follow-up.
“This isn’t a true transition plan,” Wroblewski says. “A proper handoff should see that the appointment is already scheduled, transportation and insurance barriers have already been addressed, and someone is there to follow up on whether the patient arrives.”
That level of coordination requires staffing, partnerships and accountability—the kinds of infrastructure federal grants can strengthen. It also requires urgency.
“In this field, timing matters,” Wroblewski adds. “A person may be ready to accept help today, but that window can close very quickly.”
For more information, please visit matreatment.com.
Daniel Casciato is a seasoned healthcare writer, publisher, and product reviewer with two decades of experience. He founded Healthcare Business Today to deliver timely insights on healthcare trends, technology, and innovation. His bylines have appeared in outlets such as Cleveland Clinic’s Health Essentials, MedEsthetics Magazine, EMS World, Pittsburgh Business Times, Post-Gazette, Providence Journal, Western PA Healthcare News, and he has written for clients like the American Heart Association, Google Earth, and Southwest Airlines. Through Healthcare Business Today, Daniel continues to inform and inspire professionals across the healthcare landscape.
