Neglecting mental health services bankrupting healthcare system

President Trump and Republican Congressional leaders justifiably want to curb the alarming growth in government healthcare spending. Their proposed solution? Cut $880 billion in federal funds from Medicaid over the next 10 years.

Their plan wouldn’t necessarily reduce government spending. At best, it would just shift the burden from federal taxpayers to state taxpayers. In fact, such cuts could increase overall government spending. That’s because Medicaid is the most important financing source of mental health services. Expanding access to mental health services would yield billions in savings...