Two of Daines’ Bills Passed Out of the Senate Finance Committee with Bipartisan Support
U.S. SENATE – U.S. Senator Steve Daines today spoke at a Senate Finance Committee meeting about the importance of mental health services, especially in rural states like Montana. The committee passed the “Better Act” with bipartisan support which included Daines’ bipartisan “Expand the Behavioral Health Workforce Now Act” and the “More Behavioral Health Providers Act.” The legislation Daines helped pass today specifically targets lack of access in several ways, including bolstering telehealth services, addressing coverage gaps, and strengthening the mental and behavioral health workforce.
Watch Daines’ remarks HERE.
“In Montana, we are seeing one of the largest increases in suicides nationwide, and fentanyl use in the state has claimed hundreds of lives over the past few years,” said Daines. “Attention to mental health is needed now more than ever. Those policies are the direct result of intentional, bipartisan efforts to expand mental health and substance use disorder access and services within our federal health care programs, and I’m glad for this committee’s continued focus on these important priorities.”
Daines’ “Expand the Behavioral Health Workforce Now Act” requires Medicaid to provide new guidance to states on increasing the mental health workforce, and the “More Behavioral Health Providers Act” expands eligibility for incentives under the Medicare Health Professional Shortage Area (HPSA) bonus program to practitioners furnishing mental health and substance use disorder services.
To see more of Daines’ work on mental health, click HERE.