Capitol Hill Update

Dr. Shern Testifies Before Congress on Health Care Reform

David L. Shern, Ph.D., president and CEO of Mental Health America, testified last month before the Health Subcommittee of the U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee to discuss a comprehensive health care reform bill authored by chairmen of the three lead health reform committees in the House of Representatives.

Dr. Shern and Mental Health America commended the authors of this bill for their thoughtful proposals to expand coverage for the uninsured while improving the quality of care and reducing cost.  The bill includes many provisions that would benefit people with mental health or substance use conditions who have traditionally not been well served by our current health care system.

“We are very pleased to see the principle of non-discrimination and parity for behavioral health services would be maintained in the new provisions to cover the uninsured,” said Dr. Shern.   

The “Tri-Committee” bill carries forward the principles established in federal law by the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which was signed into law last year.

“When funding is tight and benefits are reduced, mental health services are often the first place cuts are made,” said Dr. Shern. “However, providing access to mental health services is essential in light of recent findings that a large proportion of low-income, uninsured individuals have poor mental health. The provision in the Tri-Committee bill to ensure that mental health and substance use services are available to all individuals covered through a new Health Insurance Exchange is absolutely critical.”

“Phasing out the gap in coverage under Medicare Part D is also a crucial reform included in this bill,” noted Dr. Shern. “The gap in coverage commonly referred to as the “doughnut hole” has proven very disruptive and even damaging for many mental health consumers unable to access critical medications because of it.”

Mental Health America also strongly supports provisions that ensure individuals covered under the new federal program for the uninsured have access to rehabilitative and habilitative services.

"We believe this reform would help lessen the high degree of unemployment among those with serious mental illness who currently are discouraged from working out of concern that they will lose Medicaid coverage and thus their access to critical community-based services that are not generally covered by private employer-based insurance," Dr. Shern explained.

Other important provisions of the bill would improve chronic care management through medical homes and other models and increase reimbursement for primary care and enhance primary care services for people with mental health conditions.

The high priority the bill places on improving access to preventive services and health promotion is also key, particularly the provisions to eliminate cost-sharing for prevention services and proposals to fund community-based prevention and wellness services.

"As more people with mental health and substance use conditions receive health care coverage, it will be important to ensure the availability of behavioral health service providers. The Tri-Committee bill takes many important steps to address the shortage in mental health and addiction treatment professionals," said Dr. Shern.

Mental Health America is also encouraged by the initiatives in the bill to improve the quality of care by incorporating the concerns and priorities of patients into comparative effectiveness research.