Senate holds hearing on mental health care policy solutions
The Senate Finance Committee today to examine how to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder treatment and address inequities.
Committee Chairman Ron Wyden, D-Ore., and Ranking Member Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, voiced strong support for addressing the crisis in access, which recent reports suggest has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Several senators noted the severe shortages in the behavioral health workforce and the need to better integrate physical and behavioral health care. Additionally, Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., announced that she and Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., would introduce legislation today to expand the number of Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
Witnesses at the hearing included Michelle Durham, M.D., a psychiatrist at Boston Medical Center; the executive director of a CCBHC in rural Oregon; chief strategy officer for Well Being Trust; and a former Medicaid director and mental health commissioner for Arizona.