Behavioral health is a major public health issue in the District of Columbia. Sadly, many of the legislative and regulatory initiatives around behavioral health are tied to other public health concerns, such as opioid addiction, maternal mortality, and health equity.

In partnership with the Washington Psychiatric Society, AMA, and American Psychiatric Association (APA), MSDC works to ensure that patients receive appropriate support for behavioral health issues, that the practice of psychiatry is supported in the District, and that psychiatrists are available to patients in the District.

MSDC was a proud supporter of the Behavioral Health Parity Act of 2017, which enshrined into law that all health plans offered by an insurance carrier meet federal requirements of the Wellstone/Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008.

MSDC Statements and Testimony of Behavioral Health Issues

25th Council period information coming soon

Report: Insurers Falling Short on Mental Health Parity

Jan 31, 2022, 10:15 AM by Robert Hay

Payers are supposed to treat mental health like physical health, but the report shows many still differentiate in coverage.

A new federal report shows that many insurers are failing to comply with mental health parity legislation MSDC championed last decade.

The report to Congress from the federal Departments of Labor, HHS, and Treasury tracked compliance efforts with the requirement that insurers not impose financial burdens or treatment limitations on mental health care. The report focused mainly on federal efforts to seek compliance but outlined some shocking areas where compliance falls short.

In one example, a payer covered nutrition services for people with diabetes but not for people with anorexia, bulimia, or binge eating disorders.

See the report here.

The Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 was landmark legislation in treating mental health the same by payers as physical health. MSDC worked to pass into law locally the Behavioral Health Parity Act of 2017, which required all District payers to comply with the Wellstone Domenici Act.

Sample of Legislation MSDC is Tracking in Behavioral Health

(see the whole list of bills here)

Suicide Prevention Continuing Education Amendment Act of 2019 (B23-543)

What does it do? The bill requires licensed health providers to complete 2 hours of CME on suicide prevention, assessment, and screening.

MSDC position: MSDC opposes the bill as written as the language does not encourage physician wellbeing or sufficient awareness of suicide prevention.

Current status: The bill had a hearing with the Committee on Health on June 10.