EDITOR'S NOTE: The views and opinions expressed are those of the writer and not of Ottawa News Network.

A review of the community health needs assessment in Ottawa County, released in 2024 by key stakeholders and consumers, indicated that mental health continued to be the most significant health concern the county needs to address. 

As a resident and mental health professional over the past 40-plus years, I’ve had a bird's-eye view of our systems of care. I’ve seen progress and innovative programs in both the private and public mental health delivery systems and the barriers and opportunities in our current systems. I have felt encouraged by the recent efforts to de-stigmatize mental health as well as improve outcomes with medical behavioral integration, evidence-based care, and many of the other innovations in the public service delivery system. These advances in care would not have been achieved without the hard-working, dedicated professionals administering and providing service in our community mental health programs. 

Ottawa County CMH has continued to make significant strides in removing barriers to care, improving outcomes, and addressing the social determinants to care for our consumers. This has all been achieved with significantly lower administrative overhead than any privatized option can deliver. 

While politicians will debate, distract and spin up until the 2026 midterms, dedicated mental health professionals will be preparing for the onslaught of changes this new legislation portends. Over 94% of CMH funding comes from Medicaid. The reductions and new requirements will significantly reduce funding and will be a gut punch to these dedicated professionals. This ill-conceived legislation will have a profound effect upon our server delivery systems and kick many of our vulnerable family members and neighbors to the curb. This will more than likely increase ER utilization, increase the severity of psychiatric symptoms for consumers, increase law enforcement contacts, and unfortunately, increase suicide and acute crisis response needs. 

I am confident that our current CMH leadership and staff will do everything they can to mitigate these emerging concerns. It won’t be easy. 

Let’s be clear … cutting Medicaid funding isn’t just bad policy, it’s a failure of moral responsibility. County CMHs are the backbone of public mental health care. If we don’t protect them, we abandon the very people these systems were designed to serve. Let’s remember, behind every statistic is a person … a child, a mother, a neighbor ... struggling to access care that could stabilize their life. When Medicaid is cut, these lives are put at risk. 

— Robert Davis, LMSW, is a resident of Georgetown Township.

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