Rep. Courtney, Biden Administration Official Work to Improve Access to Mental Health Care
NORWICH, CT – Rep. Joe Courtney and the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) Assistant Secretary for the Employee Benefits Security Administration (EBSA), Lisa M. Gomez, met with mental health providers and patients to discuss the challenges Americans face in accessing care and the steps the Administration is taking to improve access.
Under federal law, group health plans and insurance companies must offer workers and their families the same access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits as physical health benefits. Unfortunately, workers and their families face illegal barriers to care, such as step therapy requirements and exclusion of necessary mental health treatments.
Courtney, a senior member of the Education and the Workforce Committee, and Gomez are leading work at the federal level, through legislation and proposed administrative guidance, to ensure Americans receive the same access to mental health care benefits as physical health benefits.
“Ensuring workers have the same access to mental health care benefits as physical health benefits is not just the right thing to do—it is the law. Unfortunately, as we heard during the roundtable, many insurers are abandoning this duty and the Department of Labor does not have the legal authority to adequately deter bad actors. While the Department of Labor’s new efforts to strengthen mental health parity will help improve access to mental health care, Congress must also act so the Department has the teeth to enforce the law. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Committee on Education and the Workforce to see this through,” Rep. Joe Courtney said.
“I am grateful to have met front-line mental health care providers who day in and day out are treating those most in need, as well as other mental health advocates who shared their experiences in obtaining coverage for care,” said Assistant Secretary for Employee Benefits Security Lisa M. Gomez. “Throughout the U.S., people in need of help continue to encounter illegal restrictions on their mental health and substance use disorder benefits and struggle to find mental health and substance use treatment providers that participate in their plan’s networks. The proposed rulemaking is an important step for the Biden-Harris Administration and stakeholders to work together to make parity a reality.”
Last Congress, Rep. Courtney championed and helped pass the Mental Health Matters Act in the House which would provide the Department of Labor with strengthened authority to ensure that private, employer-sponsored group health plans fulfill their responsibility to provide mental health and substance use disorder benefits under Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) and Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act. The Senate failed to act.