Roy Blunt: “according to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately one in four adults suffers from a diagnosable mental…”

“according to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately one in four adults suffers from a diagnosable mental health disorder that could be treated if diagnosed and treated properly. The bill the chairman brings to the floor today-- the bill that establishes the so-called doc fix, the repair and reimbursement issue--has an important provision in it that allows us to look at those individuals who have these mental health behavioral illnesses and begin to treat them, in eight pilot States, like any other illness. When Senator Stabenow and I introduced the Excellence in Mental Health Act in February 2013, our goal was to be sure that federally qualified centers, such as behavioral and mental health clinics, which met the proper standards could offer mental health treatment like any other kind of health treatment. This bill, which we will vote on later today, includes a provision which allows the country to have a 2-year pilot in eight States. Those eight States aren't designated in the legislation. The States themselves would step forward and say if they want to be a part of this. Certainly when we introduced this legislation in February 2013-- supported from the very start by Chairman Wyden, who has just become chairman of this critically important Finance Committee--we did it looking at the reality that people's lives have changed and the people they impact have changed.…”