Seeking More Funding

Patrick Kennedy Joins Lamont, Talks About Path To Recovery

HARTFORD — Democratic gubernatorial candidate Ned Lamont called Wednesday for preserving funding for mental health and opioid addiction at a time of tough choices for the state budget.

Lamont and former U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy spoke to patients at the state’s largest detox center, housed at a nonprofit inside St. Francis Hospital and Medical Center’s north campus in Hartford.

“I really want to remind people that when you say, as Bob Stefanowski has, that you’re going to cut $11 billion out of the budget — what exactly are the services that you’re going to cut?’’ Lamont told reporters later outside the detox center, referencing his Republican opponent’s plan to eliminate the state income tax. “Are you going to cut something like right here? Is this the type of program you’re talking about? I want to remind people every day that these are programs that make a difference in people’s lives.’’

But Stefanowski’s spokesman, Kendall Marr, said he would support funding for substance abuse and mental health.

“Unlike our current governor, who attempted to cut both of these programs by millions of dollars, Stefanowski is committed to ensuring that the state adequately invests in substance abuse and mental health programs,’’ Marr said. “Given the increasing rates of opioid abuse and drug overdose deaths in our state, it is absolutely critical that we adequately fund these core services.’’

Marr also criticized Gov. Dannel P. Malloy’s “Second Chance” program, saying that “dangerous criminals, including drug dealers,’’ have gotten out of prison early during the Malloy years. The Malloy administration has disputed those claims, saying violent offenders continue to serve at least 85 percent of their sentences.

At a debate in New Haven Monday night, Lamont and Stefanowski were both asked to rate, on a scale of one to 10, how important tackling the opioid overdose epidemic in Connecticut is. They both replied “10.”

Lamont and Stefanowski have been clashing over the best ways to solve the state’s long-running budget problems. While the numbers are subject to change, the state is facing a projected budget deficit of $2 billion in the next fiscal year and $2.5 billion the following year.

Lamont visited InterCommunity, a nonprofit that has a 35-bed detoxification unit and other residential units in Hartford, on Wednesday. InterCommunity serves about 7,000 people a year and relies on a state grant for about 50 percent of its annual funding, said Tyler Booth, the organization’s chief operating officer. The remaining 50 percent comes from insurance, with the vast majority of patients qualifying for Medicaid.

Booth said the nonprofit’s funding was already cut 5 percent in the past fiscal year, and another 5 percent cut would cause major problems.

“It would be catastrophic,’’ Booth said. “We’re already operating at a deficit.’’

Kennedy told the patients, who were gathered for lunch, about his own problems with addiction.

“Many of us end up on different paths, but the only path that really matters is where we’re constantly trying to stay in recovery from addiction,’’ Kennedy said. “You can’t deal with your anxiety, your depression and your other mental health issues if you’re still actively using and selfmedicating. This is what you’re working on here. It can be a very difficult time for you right now, but you can all rely on each other as you move forward.’’

Kennedy added, “The only way that I stay sober is by, every morning, going to a 12-step recovery meeting, where I talk to those who are also, like me, struggling with recovery. I learn from them how I can get through the day. After you leave here, I hope you all rely on one another and others who are out there, already in recovery.’’

At the federal level, Kennedy said there was more political will at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis when the government was spending $24 billion a year to combat the health issue. By comparison, he said the funding for the opioid crisis is far below those levels, and a recordbreaking 72,000 people died of overdoses last year, including more than 1,000 in Connecticut.

“If we can treat diabetes and asthma as a chronic illness, why can’t we treat mental illness and addiction as a chronic illness?’’ Kennedy asked. “The notion that the brain is treated separately from the rest of the body with respect to insurance reimbursement is really an indictment on insurance companies and an indictment on this nation.’’