Katko’s bipartisan bill targets $805M to improve mental healthcare access for minority youth

U.S. Rep. John Katko (R-NY) recently led almost 50 original cosponsors in introducing a bipartisan bill aimed at promoting access to mental healthcare for minority youth in his central New York district and across the United States.

The Pursuing Equity in Mental Healthcare Act, H.R. 1475, which Rep. Katko unveiled on March 1 with bill sponsor Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-NJ) and 48 other original cosponsors, specifically would address mental health issues for youth, particularly youth of color, according to the congressional record bill summary. The bill currently has a total of 55 cosponsors.

“Studies show that minority communities suffer disproportionately from the lack of access to quality mental healthcare,” Rep. Katko said on March 9, citing a 2019 study published in the American Academy of Pediatrics’ journal, Pediatrics, as well as a 2018 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association Pediatrics. 

If enacted, H.R. 1475 would authorize $805 million in federal funds to support research, improve the pipeline of culturally competent providers, build outreach programs, and develop a training program for providers, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Katko’s office.

“Our bill takes aim at these inequities by providing funding to expand the pipeline of providers in underserved areas,” said Rep. Katko.

His office noted that companion legislation is set to be introduced by U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) in his chamber.

“I’m proud to join this bipartisan, bicameral effort to promote access to mental healthcare services for minority communities in central New York and across the country,” the congressman said. 

H.R. 1475 has garnered support from the American Psychological Association, the American Psychiatric Association, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, Mental Health America, Sandy Hook Promise, and the American Association of Psychoanalysis in Clinical Social Work, among others.