Yesterday, Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher (TX-07) voted for the Mental Health Matters Act, H.R. 7780, to strengthen school-based behavioral health care, ensure access to mental health and substance use disorder benefits for youth and adults, and assist college students in accessing disability support services.  

“It is critical that we equip schools and universities with the resources they need to enable our students to access mental health programs they need to lead healthy lives,” said Congresswoman Lizzie Fletcher.  “Likewise, it is important that Americans who rely on employer-sponsored group health plans get mental health and substance use disorder benefits.  Establishing and expanding mental health programs can help students build confidence and self-esteem, and lead to academic success, and can lead to a higher quality of life and better productivity for all.  I was glad to vote for this legislation, which includes important steps to address the mental health care crisis facing our country.” 

The Mental Health Matters Act would take comprehensive steps to strengthen access to mental health services and improve Americans' wellbeing.  Specifically, the legislation would:

• Build a pipeline of school-based mental health services providers and increase the number of mental health professionals serving in schools;

• Help state educational agencies recruit and retain school-based mental health services providers at public schools;

• Require colleges and universities to increase transparency around the disability accommodations process and allow incoming college students to use existing documentation of a disability when seeking accommodations on campus;

• Help increase students' access to evidence-based trauma support and mental health services through innovation by linking schools and districts with local trauma-informed support and mental health systems;

• Strengthen the capacity of the Department of Labor to ensure that private, employer-sponsored group health plans provide mental health and substance use disorder benefits;

• Require the Department of Health and Human Services to identify evidence-based interventions to improve the health of children and staff in Head Start programs, and help Head Start agencies implement these interventions; and

• Strengthen the ability of people with private, employer-sponsored health and retirement plans to hold plan sponsors accountable when they are improperly denied mental health and substance use disorder benefits by ensuring a fair standard of review by the courts and banning forced arbitration agreements.