The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) examined state legislation enacted in 2023 that improves access to mental health care, finding that there are many barriers preventing people from receiving accessible, comprehensive, and affordable mental health care. Studies show that less than half of adults with mental illness receive treatment in a given year, underscoring the need for effective legislative solutions.
NAMI’s “Trends in Access to Mental Health Care State Policy” highlights state legislation enacted in 2023 that will improve access to mental health care and includes policy recommendations that may be implemented in states across the country. Key categories covered in the issue brief include mental health workforce, parity, Medicaid and private health insurance, medication access, telehealth, and statewide systems planning.
While many barriers currently exist that prevent access to mental health care, states across the country have been making strides in helping people get the best possible care. The brief encourages state policymakers to learn from one another and to consider the policy recommendations offered in the issue brief, using featured legislation as examples, to improve access to care in their states. This issue brief is the second publication in a larger series—NAMI’s 2023 State Legislation Issue Brief Series—which examines new mental health laws from 2023 addressing criminal justice, 988 and crisis services, and youth mental health.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://www.nami.org/research/publications-reports/public-policy-reports/2023-state-legislation-issue-brief-series-trends-in-access-to-mental-health-care-state-policy/