Action Alert: Tell Congress to Expand Structures for Mental and Behavioral Health
The Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act, sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet and Ron Wyden, seeks to ensure full parity and integration for mental and behavioral health.
The United Methodist Church pledges to foster mental health policies that promote compassion, advocate for access to care, and eradicate stigma within the church and communities. (2016 Book of Discipline, The Social Community)
Over one in five adults in the United States suffer from mental illness, and one in four older adults reported having anxiety or depression.(1) The crisis is even more acute for young Americans. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, four in ten high school students felt persistently sad or hopeless. One in ten attempted suicide.(2) Around a quarter of Medicare beneficiaries live with a mental illness, like depression, anxiety, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder, however only less than half receive treatment.(3)
The Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act, sponsored by Sens. Michael Bennet and Ron Wyden, seeks to address these barriers by ensuring full parity and integration for mental and behavioral health. This bill would:
- Require parity for mental and behavioral health services in Medicare Advantage, Medicare Part D, and Medicaid;
- Establish a demonstration project to increase access to integrated mental and behavioral health care for children across different settings, like schools; and
- Require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to develop and implement plans to better align payments, measure access and quality, and improve prevention services for mental and behavioral health care.
In our work to reduce stigma in our churches and faith communities, we must also advocate for expansive resource structures.
Use the form below to contact your senators now to advocate that the Better Mental Health Care for Americans Act be passed.
