Policy Tracker
Beltway Update: Bipartisan Gun Violence Package – with Big Money for Mental Health – Passes the Senate
It’s been years since any major gun control or mental health reforms have come out of Congress. But on Thursday, a gun-violence prevention package with $15 million in mental health funding was passed by the Senate on a 65-33 vote. The bill will be taken up by the House of…
What They’re Saying: Mental Health Advocates on the Bipartisan Gun Violence Package
On Jan. 21, a bipartisan group of Senators announced the details of a gun violence legislative package that also commits almost $15 billion over the coming years to funding mental health services. Leading mental health advocates are praising the proposed legislation. Here’s a sample of their reactions:
Beltway Update: As Midterms Loom, Urgency to Do Something on Mental Health Brings Opportunity
The summer before midterm elections, little usually gets done in Congress. But this year, action is possible on mental health. Will anything actually get done?
California to funnel billions into mental health overhaul aimed at youth
California Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration has allocated $4.4 billion in one-time funds to create a statewide Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative. The “unprecedented” funding aims to create a sweeping transformation of the children’s mental health system. The bulk of the money has yet to be distributed, but efforts to…
New Federal Bill Would Boost Funding for 988 Mental Health Crisis Line
New federal legislation would boost funding for the new 988 emergency line that is slated to go into effect in July. “If we had a 988 line to call on June 2, 2019, it might have saved Mile’s life,” said Taun Hall, the mother of Miles Hall, who was killed by…
Biden Signs New Funding Bill, Boosting Money for Mental Health
Almost halfway into the current fiscal year, President Joe Biden finally signed an appropriations bill that will fully fund the government for the rest of the year – and that contains substantial increases in mental health funding.
Beltway Update: Historic Congressional Focus on Mental Health
Mental health care and substance use may finally have achieved parity with primary care and specialty medicine – at least in terms of congressional interest. In February alone, there have been five mental and behavioral health hearings between the four committees with jurisdiction over health. Those who have been tracking…
Congressional hearing challenges use of physical punishment, restraints in schools
Child advocates told members of a Congressional subcommittee that federal legislation is needed to protect students from “brutal” forms of harsh or physical punishment including paddling, seclusion and restraint.
With New Report, Biden Administration Takes on Insurers Over Mental Health Failings
The Biden administration unleashed an aggressive opening salvo Tuesday in what it pledges will be a sustained effort to compel U.S. health insurers to pay for mental health services on par with the way they cover physical health care.
Biden Administration Taking Aggressive Steps to Enforce 25-Year-Old Mental Health Parity Law
The Biden administration is expected to announce Tuesday stepped-up enforcement of so-called mental health parity laws requiring health insurers to cover mental illness on the same basis as medical and surgical needs, the most aggressive intervention yet by the federal government.
Surgeon General Warns of Youth Mental Health Crisis
New report spells out mental health crisis and offers steps forward.
Beltway Update: Build Back Better Bill Closer to Finish Line
While there still is a long road ahead before Build Back Better could become law, it seems now that they may be closer than before.
Beltway Update: Mental Health Funding Boost Likely in FY22 Appropriations Bills
Much attention is being paid to the so-called human infrastructure bill that Democrats are struggling to come to agreement on, but the yearly federal appropriation bills for FY 2022 has bigger implications for mental health funding.
CDC Recognizes Mental Illness as Risk for COVID-19 Complications, Increasing Access to Booster Shots
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has recognized that people with schizophrenia and mood disorders such as major depression have a heightened risk of severe outcomes if they contract COVID-19, which increases their chances of being admitted to intensive care units.
Beltway Update: Mental Health Funding at Stake in Democrats’ Budget Battle
There is potentially a lot of mental health money in the outlines of the human infrastructure package, including Medicare, Medicaid, and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), as well as several mental health initiatives.
