[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 1242 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 1242

  Prioritizing mental health to the same degree as physical health to 
   address the epidemics of suicide and drug overdose in the United 
                                States.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                              May 17, 2024

Mr. Thanedar (for himself, Ms. Jackson Lee, and Mr. Soto) submitted the 
following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and 
                                Commerce

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Prioritizing mental health to the same degree as physical health to 
   address the epidemics of suicide and drug overdose in the United 
                                States.

Whereas mental health and physical health are inseparable;
Whereas mental health conditions require the same degree of attention as 
        physical health conditions;
Whereas mental health and substance use parity requirements for health insurance 
        plans must be firmly enforced;
Whereas, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2022, 
        49,476 Americans lost their lives to suicide, and a reported 105,384 
        Americans lost their lives to drug overdoses in 2023;
Whereas, according to the World Health Organization, mental health and many 
        common mental disorders are significantly shaped by the social, 
        economic, and physical environments in which people live;
Whereas social vulnerability, a metric that quantifies the impact of the social 
        determinants of health on county-level populations, is directly 
        associated with risk for adult suicide;
Whereas, according to research published in Addictive Behaviors Reports, adults 
        with a history of Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) have a 4.3-fold 
        higher likelihood of developing a substance use disorder;
Whereas cultural stigma against mental health disorders is an especially notable 
        social determinant of mental health;
Whereas there is a growing body of research on the association between mental 
        health stigma and suicidal actions, but more research must be done to 
        identify a causal relationship;
Whereas cultural stigma against mental illness can lead individuals to engage in 
        self-medicative practices, such as illicit drug use, instead of seeking 
        out professional assistance;
Whereas, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services 
        Administration (SAMHSA), among adults aged 18 or older in 2021, those 
        with serious mental illness (SMI) or any mental illness (AMI) were more 
        likely than those without mental illness to have used illicit drugs in 
        the past year (50.2 percent for SMI and 39.7 percent for AMI verses 17.7 
        percent for adults aged 18 or older with no mental illness);
Whereas, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, 33.5 percent of 
        United States adults with mental illness also experienced a substance 
        use disorder in 2021, which is over, 19,400,000 individuals;
Whereas, according to a 2022 literature review of 38 studies on mental health 
        and opioid overdose, nearly all reviewed studies found a connection 
        between mental disorder and overdose;
Whereas, to prevent the perpetuation of this dangerous cycle, mental health 
        education and awareness must begin from an early age, and school-based 
        mental health resources must be better utilized and better funded to 
        achieve this goal;
Whereas 1 in 5 children living in the United States experience a mental 
        disorders every year, and an estimated 49.5 percent of adolescents had 
        experienced a mental health disorder; and
Whereas mental illness stigma, and specifically self-stigma, is a significant 
        barrier to mental health services for adolescents and adults that must 
        be addressed: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) expresses support for parity between insurance coverage 
        of mental health and physical health treatment, including full 
        enforcement of existing Federal laws concerning mental health 
        parity;
            (2) works to extinguish mental health stigmas in the United 
        States;
            (3) supports the 2024 National Strategy for Suicide 
        Prevention;
            (4) seeks to provide as many resources and funds as 
        possible to combat the epidemics of suicide and drug overdose 
        by--
                    (A) promoting Federal, State, Tribal, and local 
                initiatives to retain and expand the mental health 
                workforce;
                    (B) supporting access to and coverage of 
                medication-assisted treatment;
                    (C) adopting evidence-based suicide prevention 
                strategies;
                    (D) funding linguistically, culturally, and age 
                appropriate services;
                    (E) improving quality, coverage, and accessibility 
                of crisis care service; and
                    (F) highlighting health promotion campaigns that 
                utilize digital media to target adolescents and young 
                adults.
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