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Funding for the three federal mental health and substance abuse research institutes and the Center for Mental Health Services (CMHS) must be dramatically increased in Fiscal 1999 to keep pace with scientific advances.
So testified APA's Medical Director Steven M. Mirin, M.D., before the House Subcommittee on Labor, Health, and Human Services and Education Appropriations, chaired by Representative John Porter (R-Ill.) last month.
For Fiscal 1999, APA recommends increasing the research budget of the National Institute of Mental Health to $970 million (a 20 percent increase from last year), the National Institute on Drug Abuse to $658 million (a 25 percent increase from last year), and the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism to $262 million (a 15 percent increase from last year).
APA's recommendations include funding for critical research training and management, support activities, and support for AIDS research, according to Mirin's testimony. APA also endorses the recommendation by the Ad Hoc Group for Medical Research Funding to increase the overall funding of the National Institutes of Health 15 percent as a first step toward doubling the budget over the next five years, said Mirin.
"Investment in research and treatment will help save lives, strengthen families, and save taxpayer dollars," Mirin testified. "For example, NIMH-funded research on the antipsychotic drug clozapine has helped thousands of individuals afflicted by schizophrenia to leave hospitals and in many cases hold a job and live independently for the first time in their lives."
Economic estimates suggest that clozapine saves the nation about $1.4 billion a year in health care and other costs, Mirin observed.
"But a lot of work lies ahead of us. APA specifically supports NIMH's commitment to expand research on mental illness and children. An estimated 20 percent of American youth, 11 million people in all, have serious emotional and behavioral disorders, yet two-thirds of them are not getting any treatment at all," Mirin continued.
"Turning to drug addiction, this is clearly one of the most serious public health problems that our nation faces."
The National Institute on Drug Abuse has developed a broad research portfolio that addresses the most fundamental questions ranging from how drugs work in the brain to understanding why some people are at increased risk for drug abuse while others in the same family or community are immune, said Mirin.
APA also supports the high priority placed by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism on conducting genetic research and developing promising new treatments such as naltrexone, which reduces alcoholics' craving for alcohol and the pleasure associated with alcohol intoxication, according to Mirin's testimony.
"Finally, as we all know, research advances mean little unless those who are ill receive appropriate treatment," said Mirin.
Congress has called upon CMHS, part of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, to exert vigorous federal leadership in mental health service delivery and policy development. Thus, APA recommends a Fiscal 1999 funding level of $635 million for CMHS, said Mirin.
He also urged the subcommittee to consider supporting the investment of $30 million in a new data collection initiative to make community mental health services more accountable and cost-effective.
APA also recommends funding the following CMHS programs in Fiscal 1999 at these levels:
"In conclusion, APA applauds your leadership in providing support for research and the treatment of patients with mental illness and addictive disorders," Mirin said. "These dollars will be well spent and help translate the promise of scientific discovery into improved lives for million of Americans."