Three cheers for bipartisanship
Thoughts on a bold new vision for mental health reform from Senators Bennet and Cornyn
I’ve spent a lot of time lately reflecting on some of the most challenging aspects of mental health, from processing our losses to navigating sensitive conversations about suicide and suicide prevention.
To be sure, this kind of reflection is important for all of us. It helps us dig deeper into what’s really going on in our lives, and how we can work through our struggles rather than try to avoid them. But if we spend most of our time focusing on the challenges we are facing, rather than where we are making progress, it can sometimes feel as if we are powerless when it comes to addressing mental health issues. We must discuss our solutions – the promising practices or policies that can help us realize our vision for a reformed mental health system.
While Well Being Trust, alongside our partners, has been working on a framework for mental health excellence, it’s always wonderful when we see others bring forward their ideas and approach to reform. In fact, this post will be dedicated to a new bipartisan take on mental health reform that was released today by Senators Michael Bennet (D-CO) and John Cornyn (R-TX).
Why it matters
The United States is hurting. After a record number of so-called “deaths of despair” in 2019, the data don’t look to be much better in 2020. Drug overdose deaths rose by 30%. Nearly 45,000 Americans took their own lives. Rates of depression tripled among adults, and mental health-related emergency room visits for children ages 12-17 increased by 31%.
This is crucial context: even if we aren’t always willing to talk about it, under the surface, something is chipping away at our foundations as people. Even while much of our attention is rightfully focused on battling the COVID-19 pandemic, the seriousness of this specific problem can’t be underestimated.
By recognizing that mental health is just as much a part of our flourishing as physical health, Senators Bennet and Cornyn are elevating an issue that has gone unattended for far too long. Moreover, they don’t just say that mental health is important. They include ideas about what we can do about the problems facing our country.
What’s in the paper
I’ve written at greater length about this before, but any Congressional policy seeking to improve mental health in the United States needs to address three key elements: the mental health services workforce, coordination of federal funding, and improved access to, and delivery of, services. The Bennet/Cornyn proposal tackles all three.
To begin, they acknowledge that the United States is facing a short-term surge in demand for mental health care that needs to be met. They are absolutely correct to recognize this crisis for what it is, and to recommend that we take aggressive action to prevent it from metastasizing further in the short term.
To attack the long term, they propose to invest in both health care professionals and lay people to more effectively deal with mental health challenges, empowering and connecting individuals to respond to the needs of their communities. They emphasize the importance of a cohesive national strategy that will drive the $380 billion the federal government spends annually on mental health and addiction services toward more impactful ends. This is especially important given the way that fragmented funding mechanisms and care delivery can reduce efficiency, benefits, and create red tape.
Finally, the Senators acknowledge that greater creativity and engagement will be required from local communities in order to improve access to care for those who need it most. The federal government has a critical role to play in spurring this engagement, and the paper recognizes this role.
The value of bipartisanship
From a policy perspective, Senators Bennet and Cornyn’s proposal is full of good ideas—but as important as good policy is, that may not even be its most valuable contribution to this particular moment. In Washington today, it is increasingly rare to see an issue avoid becoming captive to politics.
In fact, bipartisan agreement is not a new idea on mental health. There is a historical precedent here that I have written about previously, and even more recently, the Bipartisan Policy Center released a report on integrating mental health and primary care that checked a lot of boxes. That being said, it does feel like the political divide has grown.
With partisan rancor spreading to so many areas of policy, then, it is both impressive and commendable to see two senior legislators working across the aisle and saying that mental health is bigger than politics and bigger than political parties. It’s hard to express how heartening it is to see this kind of bipartisan cooperation, and I hope that leaders in Washington will take advantage of this opportunity to take meaningful action on behalf of all Americans.
Given the many challenges we are facing, from COVID to mental health to deepening political polarization, it can often feel as if progress is far from reach. But today should serve as a reminder that when we put people at the center of our policy, as Senator Bennet and Senator Cornyn have done, we can find reason to hope.
And so today, I am choosing to be hopeful—for our country, and for us as individuals.
I hope you’ll join me in choosing that hope. And in thanking our Senators for crossing the aisle and prioritizing the issue of mental health.