This Week in Washington: Administration focuses on mental health and monkeypox issues

Congress

The House and Senate are in Recess

House

Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-being Act

The House recently passed the Restoring Hope for Mental Health and Well-being Act, which is designed to support mental health care, prevention, education and workforce training programs.

In addition to promoting compliance with mental health parity laws, the legislation would allocate $14 million each year through 2025 and $30 million each year for 2026 and 2027 for the Pediatric Mental Health Care Access grant program. That funding would permit every state to establish a program if they want to improve the integration of pediatric primary care providers with behavioral health providers by telehealth. A bipartisan group of House members is now holding discussions with key senators to create momentum for the Senate to pass the legislation when the Senate returns.

Read more on healthcare policy in McGuireWoods Consulting’s Washington Healthcare Update.