Policy & Regulation News

Healthcare Reform Bill to Financially Support Mental Illness

By Sara Heath

Lack of mental health care causes major financial issues, costing approximately $193 billion in lost earnings and productivity, according to a recent new release. On August 4, Senators Bill Cassidy, MD, of Louisiana and Chris Murphy of Connecticut introduced a new piece of bipartisan legislation to the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee that aims to reform mental health policies to alleviate those costs and provide necessary support for families and patients with mental illness.

The bill attempts to ease these costs and support patients with mental illness through a variety of programs. The bill includes proposed grant programs for both early intervention and research, the increased enforcement of Mental Health Parity for healthcare plan providers, and the improvement of mental health care in Medicare/Medicaid. The bill also includes funding for Primary Care-Behavioral Health Integration (PBHCI) programs, which will integrate primary care and physical well-being with the mental health of a patient.

Other notable aspects of the bill include the appointment of an Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the creation of a Serious Mental Illness (SMI) Committee, and the formation of a Mental Health Policy Laboratory that will identify and fund innovative models for adult and child care.

The press release references many statistics, stating that 44 million – or 1 out of 5 adults – suffer from mental illness. Furthermore, 90 percent of suicide victims have an underlying mental illness, and those with mental illness also have a life expectancy 25 years shorter than those without mental illness. It is because of these statistics, the two senators said, that it is time that the nation do something to support individuals dealing with mental illness.

“As a doctor and as a person, I know people in my life who are affected by mental illness,” Senator Cassidy says. “We all do – we all have seen the homeless veteran who needs and deserves care, or the person we went to high school with who is missing the reunion because they are struggling with serious mental illness.”

“We are failing millions of Americans, letting those with serious mental illness slip through the cracks, and a few are resorting to horrific acts of violence when their illness goes untreated,” Senator Murphy says. “For the most powerful and most affluent country in the world, that is unacceptable, and we have an obligation to fix it.”

This proposed bill comes with a considerable amount of support from various organizations, including the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI).

“As the nation’s largest organization representing people living with serious mental illness and their families, NAMI is proud to offer our support for this strong bipartisan effort to address the current poor outcomes for many people with mental illnesses and promote earlier intervention for those with psychosis and other significant symptoms,” says Mary Giliberti, Executive Director of NAMI. “This legislation is an important step forward in bringing greater accountability to our public mental health system and hope to individuals and families seeking treatment, services, and recovery.”

As the bill moves forward, it receives support from various mental health advocacy programs, as well as members of both major political parties.