Democratic Presidential nominee Hillary Clinton released her comprehensive mental health plan to fix the country’s mental health system on Monday.
Clinton aims to put mental health on the same level as physical health, especially in terms of how the two are paid for by insurance companies.
“Recognizing that nearly a fifth of all adults in the United States—more than 40 million people—are coping with a mental health problem, Hillary’s plan will integrate our mental and physical health care systems. Her goal is that within her time in office, Americans will no longer separate mental health from physical health when it comes to access to care or quality of treatment,” Clinton’s campaign said in a released statement.
According to U.S. News & World Report, several loopholes exist in the current mental health care system, even under Obamacare.
Clinton addresses this in her plan by stating that mental health and substance abuse treatment should be more readily available, and has previously stated that the government should be allowed to negotiate prices on medication with pharmaceutical companies to reduce costs for medications, U.S News reports.
According to Politico, some of Clinton’s plans include holding a White House conference on mental health, devoting funds and research to suicide prevention, and training law enforcement officers in how to interact with mentally ill people.
According to U.S. News, the nonprofit advocacy group Mental Health America has praised Clinton’s plan, calling it “solid” and “comprehensive.”
You can read Hillary Clinton’s complete mental health care agenda here.