WASHINGTON–U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), a member of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, on Monday released the following statement on the Biden-Harris administration’s steps to improve and strengthen access to mental health care for 175 million Americans with private health insurance. The finalized rule requires health plans to make changes when they are providing inadequate access to mental health and substance use care and closes existing loopholes.

“Mental health is just as important as physical health, and yet millions of Americans are forced to pay out of pocket or go without necessary mental health services because insurance companies have found ways to skirt the law and deny coverage. For years, I’ve been pushing for stronger enforcement of our federal parity laws, and these new rules are going to hold insurers accountable. I’m grateful to the Biden-Harris administration for taking these steps that will undoubtedly help more people find and afford the care they need.”

In June, Murphy led a group of senators in a letter advocating that the Biden administration finalize the mental health parity rules that they proposed last summer. Last year, Murphy released a statement on the proposed rules. Murphy’s Mental Health Parity Compliance Act was signed into law in 2020 to provide federal and state health insurance regulators with additional tools to monitor and assure compliance with mental health parity laws. Last Congress, Murphy introduced the Parity Implementation Assistance Act with U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy (R-La.), which builds upon the Mental Health Parity Compliance Act and would incentivize further compliance with federal mental health parity laws.

###