LAS CRUCES — Today, during a visit to FYI+ — a community-based health care provider serving Las Cruces and southern New Mexico — U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.) highlighted how investments he secured are helping New Mexico expand access to mental health care and substance use disorder treatment.

"Since I took office, I've worked hard to deliver meaningful investments that ensure more families can access quality mental health care and substance use disorder treatment. An important piece of that has been supporting FYI+ as they pursued a new behavior health care model," said Heinrich. "I am hopeful that more providers will follow FYI+'s lead, to bring down costs and expand access to care in New Mexico. And I'll keep working to continue delivering the support that makes it possible."

Heinrich helped secure a $450,000 Congressionally Directed Spending grant to help FYI+ become New Mexico's first Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic.

The Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model allows behavioral health providers to charge for actual costs of services, which will dramatically expand access to mental health care and substance use disorder treatment for communities across New Mexico.

This new model allows behavioral health providers like FYI+ to bill Medicaid for actual costs of services, expanding the types of care, services, treatment, and crisis interventions they can provide.

The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, legislation negotiated and championed by Heinrich, gave the U.S. Department Health and Human Services (HHS) the authority to add New Mexico — one of the first 10 states — into the CCBHC Medicaid Demonstration Program.

CCBHCs have been shown to reduce homelessness and substance use among the people they serve and decrease use of emergency rooms and hospitalization.

This is the latest example of Heinrich's longtime work to provide New Mexicans better access to mental health care in their communities.

Find an extensive list of Heinrich's actions to address New Mexico's mental health care shortage here.