Hearing of the Health Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee - Examining H.R. 2646, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act

Hearing

Today's hearing gives us the opportunity to discuss an important public health
issue. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, approximately 1 in 5 adults in the
U.S., or 43.7 million, will experience mental illness in a given year. Of those people,
approximately 10 million live with a serious mental illness, including major depression,
schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder.

We have taken significant steps forward in recent years. The Affordable Care Act's
passage was quite literally the largest expansion of mental health and substance abuse disorder
coverage in a generation. The ACA prohibits individuals from being denied coverage due to a
preexisting mental health condition. It expands eligibility for Medicaid coverage and requires
most health plans, including Medicaid, to cover mental health and substance abuse services. Not
only are services covered, but mental health parity now applies, protecting 62 million more
Americans. This means that no insurer can impose requirements that are more burdensome for
mental health than they can for physical health.

Despite these major advances, far too many individuals still go without the treatment they
need to live long, healthy and productive lives. And more must be done to ensure coverage
translates into effective treatments and actually meets parity standards.

That is why I am interested in hearing from stakeholders on what is working and what is
not working before we move forward with extensive or comprehensive legislation. For instance,
Parachute NYC is here to discuss their innovative new approach for respite care for the seriously
mentally ill. I believe we can learn valuable lessons from this project, and others funded through
the ACA.

Mr. Chairman, unfortunately, like last Congress, the first Health Subcommittee Hearing
on mental health is once again a legislative hearing on the Helping Families in Mental Health
Crisis Act. As a result, the Subcommittee will focus on solutions as framed by this bill instead of
being framed by the needs of individuals with mental illness and the system that serves them.
While I have concerns with this process, I want to recognize that there are provisions of
H.R. 2646 that I strongly support, including the increased focus on workforce development and
the parity enforcement reporting requirements.

However, I am opposed to several provisions in the bill, including its changes to HIPAA
that would weaken the privacy rights of individuals with diagnosed mental illness; the
conditioning of Community Mental Health Block Grant funding on the presence of state AOT
Laws or Treatment Standard Laws; and cuts in funding to substance abuse programs to pay for
new mental health programs. As we all know, too often, substance abuse and mental health go
hand-in-hand, and we have a crisis in both areas.

I hope that after this hearing, we can work together and find common ground to move
bipartisan legislation forward that further advances the mental health system in this country.

I yield the remainder of my time to Rep. Matsui.

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