Abbie Kopf | Page 2 | The Kennedy Forum

Economic Modeling Study Shows Billions in Benefits from Mental Health Care Investment

The Kennedy Forum Chief Policy Officer Nathaniel Z. Counts, JD co-authored a new study that helps illustrate how government analysts might account for long-term economic benefits of good youth mental health policy.  Key findings: A hypothetical policy of early intervention and integrated care has the potential to:  Counts’ report was published by open-access journal PLOS … Continued

A New Parity Rule Has Been Announced: Here’s What to Expect Now

You may have seen that the Biden-Harris administration has announced a new rule enhancing enforcement of the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), co-authored by our co-founder, former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy. That groundbreaking legislation sought to ensure that mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUDs) were equitably covered by health insurance. … Continued

Analysis of the Mental Health Parity Final Rule

On September 9, 2024, the Departments of Health and Human Services, Labor, and Treasury issued the regulation, “Requirements Related to the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act,” updating the 2013 regulation implementing the Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA) of 2008. At its foundation, MHPAEA bars most health insurance plans from discriminating … Continued

If You Pay for Mental Health Care, You Should Know About Parity

Unfortunately in the American health care system, just because a law is passed requiring that health insurance companies cover a treatment, service, or medication, that doesn’t mean it actually happens. For instance, about 25% of people still pay for birth control even though the Affordable Care Act mandated that insurance companies make it free more … Continued

June Newsletter: Policies that Show Promise

We are fresh off the heels of an all-staff meeting in D.C., where we continued work on our strategic plan for 2025. We want to be ready to meet future opportunities — and there are plenty at play. Mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD) are being taken seriously, culturally and politically, as issues that … Continued

May Newsletter: Critical Conversations in Mental Health/Substance Use

Here’s an interesting fact: Google Trends showed that searches for “Mental Health Awareness Month” have continuously grown over the past 10 years, which means more people are searching for and talking about mental health and substance use disorders (MH/SUD) — and every conversation counts. Thank you to everyone who works this month and year-round to … Continued