Behavioral Health Statement for Senate Finance Hearing

The HR Policy Association, the American Health Policy Institute, and the National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions appreciate the Committee holding this important hearing on behavioral and mental health care issues.

The HR Policy Association is the leading organization representing chief human resource officers of over 390 of the largest employers in the United States. Collectively, their companies provide health care coverage to over 20 million employees and dependents in the United States.  The American Health Policy Institute, a part of HR Policy Association, examines the challenges employers face in providing health care to their employees and recommends policy solutions to promote affordable, high-quality, employer-based health care.  The Institute serves to provide thought leadership grounded in the practical experience of America’s largest employers.

The National Alliance of Healthcare Purchaser Coalitions (National Alliance) is the only nonprofit, purchaser-led organization with a national and regional structure dedicated to driving health and health care value across the country. Its members represent private and public sector, nonprofit, and Taft-Hartley organizations, and more than 45 million Americans, spending $300 billion annually on healthcare.

The National Alliance, HR Policy Association and the American Health Policy Institute are also part of The Path Forward initiative to execute a disciplined, private sector approach to systematically and measurably improve five established best practices of mental health and substance use care.

Congress should enact the below policy recommendations to improve access to behavioral and mental health care services.

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