Addiction, Mental Health, Covid Top HHS List in Spending Push

Suicide prevention, addiction treatment, mental health, and the Covid-19 pandemic are the subjects of significant focus in a proposed government spending package released Tuesday, teeing up the Biden administration’s health department to tackle major initiatives in the year ahead.

In all, $209.9 billion in base discretionary funding is included in the FY 2023 Labor/HHS/Education appropriations bill. That’s a 7.1% increase over the 2022 level.

Nearly $5 billion would be pumped into fighting opioid use under the package, marking an increase of over $345 million from last year. Mental Health Block Grant funding will get a $150 million increase, meanwhile, coming ...