For Harris, mental health is a strategic priority – Roll Call

Vice President Kamala Harris has indicated that, if elected president, she will work to increase access to mental health care — but admits that solving the increasingly complex problem could be a difficult process. heavy.

This issue, he said on a podcast last month, “is probably one of the biggest public policy mistakes in our country.”

“We acted as if the body starts from the neck down instead of understanding that we need health care from the neck up,” he said during Sept. 30 “All the Smoke” podcast hosted by former NBA players Matt Barnes and Stephen Jackson.

It is a public policy issue that has grown in power.

According to Mental Health America, nearly 1 in 5 American adults will experience a mental health condition in any given year, while nearly half of Americans, 46 percent, will meet the criteria for mental health status at some point in their lives. About 43 million US adults report anxiety disorders, while 46.5 million have a substance use disorder and 22.5 million US adults have depression. it’s big.

Experts say the issue requires federal policy solutions that will address the shortage of mental health care providers, address health insurance and Medicaid issues, and increase access to equal coverage. low cost of mental health.

President Joe Biden tried to talk about access. In September 2024, the Biden administration finalized legislation that would require insurers to pay for mental health and addiction care in the same way as medical services for physical conditions.

Biden also supported the passage of the 2022 gun violence legislation that includes provisions to expand school behavioral health services. The administration also created more waiting periods for Medicaid enrollees and implemented legislation to improve payment transparency for Medicaid providers.

Laudy Aron, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute, a nonpartisan policy think tank, said Biden’s efforts to improve access to mental health care could foreshadow some of what Harris might do. what to do in this matter when he is elected.

“These have been positive developments within the Biden administration, and my view is that the Harris-Walz administration will build on that,” Aron said.

But he warned against the idea of ​​a one-size-fits-all solution, saying that the issue is not easy to fix.

“There’s not one or two brands that can fix this,” Aron said.

Instead, he said, most of the work to deal with mental health happens at the state level, so government policies to solve the problem need to encourage states to create comprehensive mental health systems. Greater investment in mental health services is also essential, he said.

Harris has long worked on issues of access to mental health care. As San Francisco’s district attorney, he advocated for a statewide proposal in 2004 that expanded California’s health care system for those with serious mental health problems. She also started a project to help survivors of domestic violence with mental health counseling.

As California’s attorney general, he sponsored legislation that created a four-year program for elementary schools to provide mental health services to students, especially in disadvantaged communities. high childhood trauma, among other programs.

During the 2020 Democratic presidential race, Harris, then a candidate, introduced a proposal to address the shortage of mental health and addiction care providers that would have increased the number of double treatment beds, addressing mental illness among vulnerable populations such as veterans and minorities, and focusing on children affected by trauma.

Maternal mental health

Harris has also focused on maternal health, introducing several laws targeting the maternal mortality crisis in the United States when he was a US senator. He sponsored a package of 13 bills aimed at improving maternal health, including mental health, especially for Black women.

In September 2023, the Biden administration announced the creation of a task force on maternal mental health following the passage of a 2021 bill aimed at addressing maternal mental health. The task force will expire in 2027.

Joy Burkhard, CEO of the Maternal Mental Health Policy Center, said she hopes Harris will build on the group’s work even more if elected. He said that what the next administration will do with future reports will be important for raising the issue but solving the problem will require a major overhaul of the existing systems.

“We cannot keep talking about the problem. We need to do something stronger and not just falter, which is all we can do with our current system. We need something bigger and bolder to help solve that fundamental problem in providing prenatal care,” Burkhard said.

In the United States, one in five women has a mental illness or substance use disorder during pregnancy, which is during pregnancy or a year after giving birth, according to the American Psychiatric Association.

A bipartisan issue

Although former President Donald Trump has publicly rejected the document, parts of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 platform, which aims to create a policy document for future GOP presidents, will have implications for mental health care. The document, among other things, would end the health care law of 2010. It also proposes to reduce Medicaid coverage of mental health care.

In addition, Trump has also suggested a return to psychiatric treatment, which would be a change from long-term treatment strategies.

“For those who are very mentally ill and very disturbed, we will send them back to mental institutions where they belong,” he said in an April 2023 video.

Mental health care advocates say they are concerned that Trump may want to cut Medicaid coverage of mental health services. Medicaid is the largest payer in the country for such services.

“We want to make sure that recent advances in health insurance that expand mental health and substance abuse coverage, do so equitably, remain in place ,” said Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer. National Alliance on Mental Illness.

However, access to mental health is considered a highly bipartisan policy area.

Wesolowski said the establishment of the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline is the second thing he hopes the next president will continue to invest in.

“I think this is an opportunity for any future president to see that happen and make sure that every American knows about this life-saving tool and continue to fund that and developing it as an alternative to 911 for mental health emergencies,” he said. .

Regardless of who wins the White House, advocates say the current state of the US mental health system will require significant resources to move the needle in the right direction.

“We’ve never had a real mental health system. It’s all put together, and anyone who needs mental health care has to jump through a lot of hoops,” Wesolowski said.