In a month of extreme highs and lows for the advocacy community, The Kennedy Forum both applauded President Biden’s new strategy to address the U.S. mental health crisis and condemned a federal court’s decision to overturn the pivotal Wit v. United Behavioral Health ruling. New challenges and opportunities await. More below. Policy Pulse The Kennedy Forum applauded the Biden Administration … Continued
With five children, Patrick and I have heard our fair share about school physicals over the years. But one thing is always missing: mental health. As a society, we’re letting a critical opportunity to monitor an increasingly at-risk component of kids’ health fall by the wayside. In 2019, the CDC reported that suicide was the second-leading … Continued
By Patrick J. Kennedy This week, the federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued a devastating ruling in the Wit v. United Behavioral Health (UBH) case that, once again, sets America back while struggling to cope with increasing mental health challenges—especially among youth—and historic fatal overdose rates. The appeals court overturned the trial court’s determination that UBH … Continued
By Patrick J. Kennedy and Ryan Hampton Substance use disorder, commonly known as addiction, affects one in three households in the U.S. That’s one-third of all American families. Approximately 28 million individuals currently live with a highly treatable, but also highly stigmatized mental health disorder. What do all these people have in common? They work. … Continued
This month, as a partner of the Hopeful Futures Campaign, The Kennedy Forum helped to launch “America’s School Mental Health Report Card,” a new report that grades all 50 states and Washington D.C. on school mental health policies. In addition to the rankings, it highlights programs in some states that stand out as models for positive … Continued
Despite an increased demand for mental health and substance use disorder (MH/SUD) treatment even before the COVID-19 pandemic, certain local and state governments have decided to opt out of the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (Federal Parity Act)—a law that requires most insurers to cover illnesses of the brain, such as … Continued
By Amy Kennedy, education director of The Kennedy Forum Social media giant TikTok, which approximately 70% of U.S. teens use, recently announced it will ban content promoting disordered eating. The company said it wanted to respond to the fact that people can “struggle with unhealthy eating patterns and behavior without having an eating disorder diagnosis.” … Continued
Last December, Congress clarified key disclosure requirements for patients regarding covered benefits under their health plan. Under the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, which amended and reinforced the rights included in the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (the Federal Parity Law), patients and their authorized representatives have the right to gain … Continued
On February 1, Patrick J. Kennedy will join President Bill Clinton and other leaders from the faith and public health communities for “Bridging Faith and Science to Combat the Overdose Crisis.” The virtual event is hosted in partnership by the Clinton Foundation, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and The Center for Responsible Leadership. Panelists … Continued
By Amy Kennedy, education director of The Kennedy Forum The COVID-19 pandemic has brought forth universal changes for all. We’ve born witness like never before to the cracks in our system and the ground that needs to be covered to account for what we lack. One of these fractures has markedly been mental health support … Continued
