Becerra Touts Mental Health, Addiction Treatment Funding; Calls for Telehealth Reform

  • Dec 16, 2022

    In remarks at a Dec. 13 Brookings Institution event, HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra touted the rollout of the 988 mental health assistance line and the Biden administration’s push for more mental health funding. In addition to promoting the administration’s victories, Becerra also reiterated the urgent need to recruit and retain burnt out practitioners. And he called on Congress to make pandemic-related emergency telehealth flexibilities permanent.   

    The relatively low amount of available mental health care providers, particularly for youth and in rural areas, is a stubborn barrier to care that has frustrated health insurers that need to meet network adequacy requirements.  

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  • Peter Johnson

    Peter has worked as a journalist since 2011 and has covered health care since 2020. At AIS Health, Peter covers trends in finance, business and policy that affect the health insurance and pharma sectors. For Health Plan Weekly, he covers all aspects of the U.S. health insurance sector, including employer-sponsored insurance, Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage and the Affordable Care Act individual marketplaces. In Radar on Drug Benefits, Peter covers the operations of (and conflicts between) pharmacy benefit managers and pharmaceutical manufacturers, with a particular focus on pricing dynamics and market access. Before joining AIS Health, Peter covered transportation, public safety and local government for various outlets in Seattle, his hometown and current place of residence. He graduated with a B.A. from Colby College.

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