Bill to Protect Providers’ Mental Health Gets Congressional Approval

Legislation designed to support the mental and behavioral health of healthcare providers is a step closer to being signed into law. The US Senate recently unanimously approved the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, and the bill is expected to be signed by President Joe Biden once it reaches his desk. It was approved by the House in December 2021.

The legislation is named for Lorna Breen, MD, an emergency department physician in New York who died by suicide in April 2020 in the intense, early period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The bill requires that the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) award grants to hospitals, medical professional associations, and other healthcare entities to fund programs that promote mental health and resiliency among staff. HHS may also award grants for relevant mental and behavioral health training for healthcare students, residents, or professionals.

As a result of the bill, HHS will also conduct a campaign to encourage providers to seek support and treatment for mental and behavioral health concerns, and share best practices for suicide prevention and improving mental health and resiliency among caregivers.

HHS will also study and develop policy recommendations on improving practitioners’ mental and behavioral health, removing barriers to care, and identifying resiliency strategies.

“These issues have always been present in medicine, and the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed them to the forefront,” Gerald E. Harmon, MD, president of the American Medical Association (AMA), said in a news release. “The AMA is grateful the Breen family advocated for this legislation, and that Congress listened. It is a fitting legacy for Dr Breen.”

In March 2021, the AMA was among more than 30 medical organizations that sent a letter to the bill’s sponsors in March 2021 advocating for its passage.

References

Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, HR 1667, 117th Cong., 2021.

Robeznieks A. Congress passes bill to promote physician mental health. American Medical Association. https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/physician-health/congress-passes-bill-promote-physician-mental-health. Published 2022. Accessed February 25, 2022.