Washington, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senators Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and John Cornyn (R-Texas) passed their bipartisan legislation to improve access to mental health and substance use disorder care through the Senate Finance Committee. The Connecting Our Medical Providers with Links to Expand Tailored and Effective (COMPLETE) Care Act will improve access to timely, effective behavioral health services in primary care settings. The legislation now heads to the Senate floor for consideration.
“We need to make it as easy as possible for Nevadans to access mental health care. By helping providers integrate behavioral health care into their practices, my bill will provide patients with more opportunity to get the care they need in one place,” said Senator Cortez Masto. “This commonsense legislation addresses some of the workforce challenges that are making it difficult for Nevadans to access care, and I will keep working to get it signed into law.”
“Integrating mental health care within primary care would make it easier for those battling depression, anxiety, and substance abuse to access the treatment they need,” said Senator Cornyn. “Our bill would encourage primary care providers to collaborate with behavioral health care providers to increase access to mental health care for patients, and I’m grateful to Senator Cortez Masto for her partnership on this important issue.”
The COMPLETE Act makes quality mental health services more accessible for underserved communities, lowers health care costs, and increases coordination with the rest of medicine. Specifically, this bipartisan legislation helps providers adopt evidence-based integrated delivery models such as the Collaborative Care Model (CoCM) and the Primary Care Behavioral Health (PCBH) Model—which have been proven to increase access to mental health care, reduce wait times for treatments, and improve patient outcomes.
You can read the full bill text HERE.
Senator Cortez Masto has been a leader in the Senate on mental health issues. She helped fund and implement the 988 Suicide & Crisis lifeline, and passed bipartisan legislation to expand behavioral health crisis support services. She successfully fought to include $1 billion to support mental health services in schools in the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. She is also working to pass bipartisan legislation to expand telehealth treatment for Nevadans struggling with opioid use disorders.
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