PA's John Fetterman Wants National Mental Health Commission

WASHINGTON, DC — U.S. Sen. John Fetterman, who has opened up in the past about his mental health struggles, recently introduced a bill on Capitol Hill that would establish a national mental health commission.

If passed, the United States Senate Commission on Mental Health Act of 2024 would provide Congress and the Biden administration "independent, expert policy recommendations" to improve affordability and access to mental health care services for Americans.

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The bill was co-sponsored by Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota.

“Before I sought help for my depression, I was the biggest cynic — but it truly worked,” said Fetterman, a Democrat from Pennsylvania. "Mental health challenges impact people all across Pennsylvania and the country – from our reddest counties to our bluest, from our biggest cities to our smallest towns."

Fetterman continued, "I'm committed to ensuring that everyone suffering from mental health challenges has access to the same resources and treatment that I did. This bill will help make that the reality."

During his first few months as a U.S. senator, Fetterman openly decided to seek treatment for depression by checking himself into Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland, last Feb. 15.

When he sought treatment, Fetterman was still recovering from a stroke he suffered in May 2022 during his campaign for Senate.

“I really scared my kids, and they thought, 'You won, Dad. Why aren’t we enough? Why are you still so sad? Why are you even more sad?'" Fetterman told the Associated Press in a December interview. "And it was hard for — to explain why I was. And, of course, a 9-year-old child wouldn’t understand that. And it was awful."

Both Fetterman and Smith are current members of the bipartisan Senate Mental Health Caucus.

If passed, Fetterman said the commission would focus on the following topics during its first year:

• Coverage of mental health care services including mental health parity requirements, under federal health plans.
• Reimbursement rates for mental health care services concerning mental health care providers.
• Workforce challenges including barriers to entering the field and challenges faced by mental health care providers.

The commission would then submit to Congress and other federal officials an annual report based on studies carried out that year.

The proposed commission is supported by the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Association of Suicidology, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the Children’s Hospital Association and the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

“Too many people struggling with their mental health aren’t getting the care they need. We need to do better,” Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer of NAMI, said in a statement. "To address our nation’s mental health crisis, we will need collaboration and leadership from Congress, federal policymakers, and key stakeholders."

Full text of the bill can be found here.