EDITORIAL: Good step on mental health

Dec. 10--Congress will close out one of its most acrimonious sessions in recent history with an uncharacteristically and broadly bipartisan, progressive new law that could yield significant medical advances.

The 21st Century CURES Act is designed primarily to speed the approval of new generations of drugs. But it also promises to improve the quality of and access to mental health care, if the next Congress follows through with appropriations to fund the changes.

Reflecting the helpful trend of recognizing the raging national opioid addiction crisis as a public health emergency rather than a law enforcement issue alone, the act steers an additional $1 billion over two years to existing treatment programs. And it steers more money to the National Institutes of Health for addiction research, and for increased research into other forms of mental illness.

Crucially, the new law establishes a grant program to help boost the number of psychologists and psychiatrists. Nationwide, there is a serious shortage of psychiatrists, especially, making it difficult for patients to obtain the appropriate care even when their insurance covers it.

The law also requires states to spend at least 10 percent of their mental health block grants on early intervention for psychosis. It also requires education for professionals on when and how they can advise patients' families of their conditions without violating the HIPAA privacy law.

At the federal level, the law creates a new position, assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services for mental health and substance abuse. That executive will be responsible for coordinating 112 separate mental programs under eight different agencies.

The new law has the potential to produce real progress in mental health care, which too often is an afterthought of public health policy.

It's important for the next Congress to maintain the bipartisan spirit that produced the new law, especially because its goals will be impossible to achieve if lawmakers eviscerate the Affordable Care Act.

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