ADA Supports Passage of the Dr Lorna Breen Mental Health Bill

In a letter, the ADA urged members of Congress to pass the Dr Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act.

The American Dental Associations signed a letter of support to Congress to pass the Dr Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act, a bill that funds efforts to support the mental health wellbeing of healthcare workers, according to a report in ADA news.

The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Reauthorization Act would fund efforts to implement strategies that reduce and prevent suicide, burnout, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders through federal grants. It also established the Impact Wellbeing campaign, which gives hospital leaders evidence-informed solutions to reduce health worker burnout, sustain well-being, and build a system where health workers thrive.

The bill is named in remembrance of Lorna Breen, MD, a physician who supervised the emergency department at New York-Presbyterian Allen Hospital who died by suicide in 2020. The bill was passed in 2022 with the support of the ADA, and has since provided $103 million in grants to fund mental health efforts.

The letter was signed by more than 50 different organizations and was sent to a group of members of Congress from both parties that included Sens Tim Kaine, D-Va, and Todd Young, R-Ind, and Reps Susan Wild, D-Pa, Jennifer Kiggans, R-Va, Debbie Dingell, D-Mich, and Buddy Carter, R-Ga.

“Access to mental and behavioral health support and treatment has improved and more employers are able to engage with their workforce on these issues, provide greater resources, and accelerate promising solutions,” the letter states. “We have also been able to capitalize on this momentum to begin implementing overdue changes in licensing and credentialing processes that have unintentionally contributed to the stigma around seeking mental health care.”