Health care advocacy groups are warning that treatment for addiction and mental illness is becoming harder to find as Medicaid cuts begin to take effect.

A new fact sheet from Protect Our Care showed 55 mental health facilities, behavioral clinics or mental health wards have closed nationwide since last summer, when Republicans passed large cuts to Medicaid in the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Many of the changes take effect in January.

Matt Herdman, California state director for the group Protect Our Care, said more people experiencing psychiatric episodes or addiction could lose coverage and end up in emergency rooms.

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“About 50% of people who get help for opioid use get their coverage through Medicaid, and about a third of people with mental healthcare needs get their coverage through Medicaid,” Herdman reported.

The Trump administration put the savings from Medicaid cuts toward other priorities, including immigration enforcement and lower corporate taxes.

In California, Medicaid is known as Medi-Cal. The changes include additional paperwork to meet new work requirements or prove eligibility every six months. The California Health Care Foundation estimates the cuts will cost Medi-Cal $30 billion a year and cause 3.4 million Californians to lose coverage.

Dr. Jerry Abraham, director of public health integration, street medicine and workforce development for Kedren Community Health Center in South Los Angeles, said many people already dropped coverage after Congress allowed COVID-era premium subsidies to expire. Kedren includes an acute psychiatric hospital.

Abraham stressed it means a major increase in uncompensated care in emergency rooms.

“At MLK Community Hospital and Louisiana County General Hospital, if we lose the revenue that comes in via Medicaid, we won't be able to pay the bills, and at some point, we won't be able to keep the doors open,” Abraham cautioned.

To stave off potential closures, backers have put Measure ER on the ballot in Los Angeles County next Tuesday. The measure would temporarily increase the sales tax by half a cent, raising $1 billion a year for five years to support health care services.