Hillary Clinton releases plan for mental health care reform
On Monday, Democratic presidential Hillary Clinton released her plan for comprehensive mental health care reform. As seen on her website, the agenda focuses on suicide prevention, early diagnoses, better training for law enforcement, enforcing mental health parity in healthcare systems, and increasing disability-supportive housing.
If that list sounds life-altering, that’s because it is. Clinton has been supporting mental health care reform since 1993, when she headed the Task Force on National Health Care Reform as First Lady. She and President Bill Clinton were proponents of the Health Security Act, which would have implemented universal health care.
The Health Security Act was defeated decisively in 1994, but Clinton continued to campaign for mental health reform. She helped organize the first White House Conference on Mental Health in 1999, and made reform a key component of her Senate race in 2000. In 2008, she cosponsored the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act, which meant that employers who offered physical health benefits had to match spending on mental health care as well.
While health care reform is something everyone in the U.S. should be interested in — we spend more on healthcare than any other country — mental health reform on this scale will literally save lives, especially queer lives.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, queer people are 3 times more likely to experience depression and anxiety, and experience higher rates of suicide ideation and substance abuse. Queer people suffering from these issues often face further discrimination when seeking medical help.
We have evidence that hostile and anti-queer legislation and discrimination increase the risk of these disorders. With “bathrooms bills” and LGBT anti-discrimination laws being enforced across the country, it’s vital that politicians start taking notice of mental health. Having the Democratic presidential candidate release such an agenda is a huge step forward.
Donald Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, also released a health care reform agenda on his website in March of this year. His platform focuses on repealing Obamacare and limiting federal involvement in state health care programs.
Mental health didn’t make the list of reforms that would happen on the “first day of the Trump administration”, but is vaguely mentioned as an issue that “should receive bi-partisan support” at the bottom of the page.
