miércoles, 10 de febrero de 2016

Improving Access to Mental Health Services

Dept. of Health & Human Services
February 9, 2016
By: Kana Enomoto, Acting Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
As part of his January announcement of new Executive Actions to reduce gun violence and make our communities safer, the President announced that his Fiscal Year 2017 Budget would propose $500 million in new investments to increase access to mental health care. The President’s announcement builds on the Administration’s efforts over several years to increase access to mental health services.
The Affordable Care Act has expanded behavioral health coverage for millions of Americans in three critical areas.  The law ends insurance company discrimination based on pre‐existing conditions.  It requires coverage of mental and substance use disorder services in the Health Insurance Marketplace. It also expands behavioral health parity. As a result, more than 60 million Americans have better coverage for, and improved access to, mental health and substance abuse services.
The Now is the Time initiative launched by the President and the Vice President in 2013 has expanded access to training and supports to help teachers and others learn the signs and symptoms of mental health issues and connect young people to treatment.  It has also expanded our federal investments in training the behavioral healthcare workforce, so that we can support more mental and substance use disorder treatment providers in communities across the country.
Yet, more work is needed to ensure that families can access the care they need.  Only about half of children and less than half of adults with diagnosable mental disorders get the treatment they need.  Despite the expansion of behavioral health coverage through the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act and the Affordable Care Act, we must do more. That’s why the President’s Fiscal Year 2017 Budget proposes $500 million in a new two-year mandatory funding initiative to improve access to mental health services.  The Administration understands the need and is answering the call.
READ MORE: Improving Access to Mental Health Services

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