2007 Appropriations for Mental Health Research and Services (Oral Testimony)
Subcommittee on Labor, Health And Human Services, Education, And Related Agencies Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives
AAGP Past-President Dan G. Blazer, M.D., M.P.H., Ph.D.
3/30/2006
Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee:
I am Dan Blazer and I am here to testify today as past president of the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry. I am a physician and professor of psychiatry. AAGP appreciates having this opportunity to testify about funding priorities for the Department of Health and Human Services.
The White House Conference on Aging, which was convened by President Bush in December 2005, recognized the current health and mental health needs of older Americans and the challenges awaiting as the Baby Boom generation ages. I was privileged to be among the delegates who placed mental health and geriatric health professional training issues at the forefront by voting them among their top 10 resolutions. I will focus my testimony today on specific ways that this Subcommittee can help us meet those challenges.
With the baby boom generation nearing retirement, the number of older Americans with mental disorders is certain to increase in the future. Medicare funding for existing services is severely challenged. Therefore, a national crisis in geriatric mental health care is emerging, and action must be taken now to avert serious problems in the near future. While many different types of mental and behavioral disorders can occur late in life, they are not an inevitable part of the aging process, and continued research holds the promise of improving the mental health and quality of life for older Americans.
The crisis in the delivery of mental health care to the elderly in future generations can be averted when more efficient and effective therapies are identified through research. The New England Journal of Medicine has just published an important study, funded by NIMH, that suggests we can significantly decrease relapse rates in depression – which lead to more physician visits and hospitalizations – by continuing these patients for longer periods on antidepressant medication. In addition, studies of the IMPACT model for treating late-life depression suggest that effective treatment of depression in primary care reduces the cost of general health care in those settings.
We need the infrastructure and vigorous agenda at NIMH to develop and fund research on causes, prevention and treatment of late-life mental disorders. We need to ensure the implementation of evidence-based practices by increasing support for the small existing program for mental health outreach and treatment for the elderly within the Center for Mental Health Services at SAMHSA, which was initiated five years ago at the behest of this Subcommittee.
Despite growing evidence of the need for more geriatric specialists to care for the nation’s elderly population, a critical shortage persists. For the current fiscal year, Congress has inexplicably eliminated all funding for the geriatric health professions program under Title VII of the Public Health Service Act. The loss of these programs could have a disastrous impact on physician workforce development over the next decade, with dangerous consequences for the growing population of older adults who will not have access to appropriate specialized care. These programs are critical for nation’s ability to provide the kind of health care that will allow the baby boom generation to be independent and productive as they age. AAGP, in the strongest terms, urges the Subcommittee to restore funding to this program at FY 2005 levels of $31.5 million.
AAGP firmly believes that investment in research and training in the service of better care for mental illness among the elderly will not only improve the quality of life of older adults but will save money in the delivery of services.
AAGP appreciates your consideration of our views on these funding issues, and I will be happy to answer any questions the Subcommittee may have.
|
