Mental Health Policy

Mental Health America takes a unique approach to policy. MHA believes policy should ask people what they need to live the lives they want and support them in getting there. Recovery is founded on the principle that people can take on meaningful roles in the community despite mental health challenges, when they receive the support they need. MHA's goal is recovery for all. There is nothing more important than allowing everyone, and those they care about, the chance to live the life they want with meaningful roles in the community.

In the history of treatment of people with mental health problems, our system has done a poor job at protecting people. The story of the Mental Health Bell is a reminder that we cannot return to a system where people are shackled, mistreated, and otherwise forgotten. Since 1909, MHA has fought to improve the system for individuals who struggle with mental health problems.

Unfortunately, the fight is not over. MHA and our affiliates continue to fight to ensure access to treatment; improve quality of treatment; reduce homelessness, incarceration, and discrimination; and ultimately move our system towards a better mode-- one where people are treated with dignity and early intervention and prevention of mental health problems is prioritized.

What We Fight For

Mental Health America (MHA) – founded in 1909 – is the nation's leading community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those living with mental illness and to promoting the overall mental health of all Americans. Our work is driven by our commitment to promote mental health as a critical part of overall wellness, including prevention services for all, early identification and intervention for those at risk, integrated care, services, and supports for those who need it, with recovery as the goal.

As part of our cohesive effort, MHA staff, Board Members, and Committee Members have researched, written, reviewed, and approved position statements that cover a large number of policy issues that we care about. The members of our Board and Committees are consumers, family members, advocates, lawyers, scientists, practitioners, and political leaders who bring their vision and expertise to support these efforts. Each position statement provides an overview of where we stand on each issue, a background of the issue, and a call to action that lists specific changes we want to see. These position statements provide a foundation by which we fight for a better system.

MHA collaborates with scientists, practitioners, policy experts, advocates, and other community leaders to design policy recommendations that promote:

MHA works to move forward these ideas through activities that include federal and state legislative and regulatory reform, building public understanding of the issues, weighing in on key court cases, and collaboration with other advocates and coalitions to improve our system.

Our position statements cover the main topic areas below.

System Transformation Rights and Privacy Treatment and Access Children's Mental Health Criminal Justice and Mental Health Procedural Issues Linkage to Broader Issues

Click below to view all of our position statements.

View all of our position statements

What's Happening in 2020: Policy Agenda

Our top priorities this year include:

Financing and Training of the Peer Workforce MHA will work to increase insurance and Medicare coverage of peer services. We will ensure reciprocity of national certification across states to maximize opportunities and job mobility for peer workers. We will seek to secure resources and address barriers for training and certifications to lead to increased employment and reimbursement.

Prevention and Early Intervention for Children, Youth and Young Adults, with an emphasis on school-based education and services Much of MHA’s work is guided by the Before Stage Four philosophy (B4Stage4)- that mental health conditions should be prevented and treated long before they reach the critical points in the disease process. We will seek to share information on how states are implementing k-12 school-based education, peer support, and services to prevent and intervene early in mental health conditions. We will also work to ensure mental health care is available in higher education and that value-based payment and other reimbursement incentives reflect the B4Stage4 philosophy.

Access to Mental Healthcare and Supports, with a focus on integrated primary care Access to mental health care should be easy and affordable. MHA will work at the national and state level to enforce parity. We will support Medicaid expansion and fight efforts to restrict access to coverage. We will partner to develop policy solutions to promoting integrated mental health care in primary care and primary care within mental health services and support the use of digital tools to provide more effective and accessible care.

Suicide Prevention and Access to Crisis Care As part of our B4Stage4 philosophy, MHA supports alternatives to emergency rooms and criminal justice involvement. We will support the creation of a new 9-8-8 number for suicide prevention and mental health crises. We will also advocate for additional funding for crisis and diversion services, including peer support and respite services. We will work with police departments, gun shops, firearms owners to do in reach, promote screening and ensure safety in the home.

Workplace Mental Health MHA recognizes the psychological impact that workplaces can have on their employees. Millions of employees spend a large part of their day, and lifetime, at work, increasing the effect that workplace environments can have on psychological well-being. This is particularly concerning for law enforcement and first responders and we will work to promote mental health among these workers. We will develop additional proposals to incentivize workplace wellness activities, improve culture, and increase access to assistance and mental health care.

Bills Introduced in the 116th Congress

Learn about some of the bills introduced in the 116th Congress that we're working on and where they fall in line with Mental Health America's legislative priorities:

Overall Health Care Reform Legislation

Lower Health Care Costs Act

Prevention for All

RISE (Resilience Investment, Support, and Expansion) from Trauma Act

Early Identification and Intervention for Those at Risk

Mental Health Services for Students Act

Integrated Treatment for Those who Need It

Mental Health Parity Compliance Act of 2019

Mental Health Professionals Workforce Shortage Loan Repayment Act

Overdose Prevention and Patient Safety Act

Recovery as the Goal

Medicaid Reentry Act

Recent Actions

REQUEST LETTER: For Behavioral Health in Third COVID-19 Package

STATEMENT: Leaders of Nation's Charitable Nonprofits Urge Congress to Go Further

REQUEST LETTER: COVID-19 Relief and Economic Stimulus Package

COMMENT LETTER: FCC 988 Designation

COMMENT LETTER: NIMH Strategic Plan

ISSUE BRIEF: Digital Therapeutics

The Regional Policy Council

MHA's Regional Policy Council (RPC) works with seven of our most knowledgeable affiliate public policy or executive directors across 4 regions in the country. The relationship between states and the federal government can be confusing, particularly for advocacy work. To learn what distinguishes the states from the federal government in terms of mental health, read our introduction to The Federal and State Role in Mental Health.

The Regional Policy Council

The State Of Mental Health in America Report

Each year, MHA gathers and provides up-to-date information about disparities faced by individuals with mental health problems as a tool for creating change. Read The State of Mental Health in America to learn more about the data on mental health prevalence and treatment throughout the United States that informs our policy work.

The State Of Mental Health in America Report

How You Can Help

Become an advocate in your state: Sign up for our Advocacy Network emails to get alerts and take action now on critical issues that matter to you. Learn how to inform elected officials about critical mental health and substance use issues in your community. Download the Act B4Stage4 Toolkit for content and tools to help you talk to federal and state legislators!

Join a webinar to learn more about policy issues and advocacy: Our Webinars are a great source of information on areas that matter to MHA presented by MHA staff, affiliates, and other leaders and innovators in the field of mental health services and policy.

Participate in an upcoming event: Watch a recording of our virtual Policy Institute to learn more about prevention and early intervention for mental health.

We are always interested to learn more about what others are doing and how they want to get involved with us to improve our system. Please feel free to reach out to any of our staff to get involved.