Mental Health & Substance Abuse NAICS 621420, 623220

Jul 9, 2026 - Millions In Federal Grant Funding Announced

• The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is awarding over $281 million in grant funding opportunities that address addiction, mental illness, and overdose. Over$68.2 million will be used to expand access to medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorders. Over $55.7 million is devoted to grants that support the development of school-based mental health programs and services. Other programs include school-based mental health services, trauma care for children, and overdose response training for first responders.
• Enrollment in Affordable Care Act (ACA) health insurance plans through Healthcare.gov has modestly decreased, according to the Washington Post. The ACA resulted in an extraordinary expansion of mental health and substance use disorder coverage, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. About 20 million people gained insurance coverage because of the ACA, including 15.3 million who became eligible for Medicaid. The ACA resulted specifically in significant reductions in the uninsured rate for individuals with mental health conditions and one study showed the share of people going without mental health care due to cost decreased by about one-third.

• All 50 states and the District of Columbia have seen fentanyl-related drug deaths decrease to levels not seen since 2020, according to an analysis of US overdose data conducted by researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Demand for substance abuse treatment may decrease if the decrease in fentanyl-related drug deaths is due at least in part to a decrease in fentanyl use. "We are on track to return to levels of [fatal] overdose before fentanyl emerged," said Nabarun Dasgupta, lead researcher on the project which examined overdose records from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Drug deaths in the US are down roughly a quarter, according to provisional Centers for Disease Control data. That includes fentanyl and other illicit drugs like cocaine and methamphetamine.
• Mental health and substance abuse industry employment decreased slightly and wages for nonsupervisory employees increased slightly during the first two months of 2026, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Mental health and substance abuse treatment providers increased prices slightly during the first 3 months of 2026, according to the BLS.