Advocate for Passage of Comprehensive Mental Health Legislation
November 13, 2022
11:00AM EST
November 14, 2022
3:00PM-5:00PM EST
We share three templates you can choose from based on which offices you met with on November 14. Please send your thank you notes by November 18 to be timely.
Advocacy Summit Resources
Legislative Issue(s) and Training Materials
| APA Advocacy Training Videos |
| Factsheet: Pass Comprehensive Mental Health Legislation |
| APA Services Letter to Sens. Wyden, Crapo, Murray, and Burr |
| Pitch Practice Worksheet |
Comprehensive Mental Health Reform Summit Asks | |
Senate HELP Committee Congress must pass comprehensive mental and behavioral health reform this year, including:
| Senate Finance Committee Congress must pass comprehensive mental and behavioral health reform this year, including:
|
Congressional Leadership: Congress must pass comprehensive mental and behavioral health reform this year. Please work with the Senate Finance and HELP Committees to ensure that provisions that strengthen and enhance access to mental and behavioral services are included in the final package. | |
Note: Bolded items in the list are required topics. Please refer to the sections below for more details.
How is this Summit Different from Previous Summits?
Unlike previous APA Services Advocacy Summits, where participants led most of the conversation and APA staff role was more supportive, these meetings are designed to truly be a partnership between participants and APA Services staff. Each will play a distinct part.
The role of participant is to make the case by providing context, stories, and a professional, on-the-ground perspective. The role of APA Services staff is to deliver the legislative requests. This does not mean that you should feel pressured to become an issue expert on all or any of the topics we discuss, or that you need to memorize a lot of information about the bills listed above. If you receive questions that you are unable to answer, please let the office you are meeting with know that someone from APA Services will follow up.
Your meetings will have a flow similar to this:
- APA staff: Opening the meeting, do introductions, briefly discuss why the meeting is taking place and what we would like to see happen, turn over to advocate.
- Advocate: Present their story.
- APA staff: Discuss the legislative request.
You will have received an email the week of October 17th from Doris Parfaite-Claude, connecting you with the APA staffer who will be accompanying you in your meetings. If you have questions about how to prepare for meetings, please consult with the staffer named in the email.
How is Our Messaging Different this Summit?
As a constituent you have unique insights and stories about how people in your state need greater and stronger access to mental health services. Below are examples of stories you can prepare in advance of your meeting, with the help of the factsheet and pitch practice worksheet linked to in the Advocacy Summit Resources section. Those suggestions are based on the committee on which your members of Congress sit. Please consult with the APA staff who will be accompanying you if you have questions on which committees your officials sit on, how to best prepare ahead of the meeting, etc.
For Finance Committee meetings: The priorities we will discuss will include increasing support for psychologists and psychology trainees in Medicare, and improving reimbursement and support for integrated care. Examples of stories that will help bring those issues to life include: challenges unique to older patients; the value of increasing training opportunities for advanced psychology trainees (interns and post-doctoral residents); difficulties recruiting providers for Medicare; and how integrating behavioral health services into primary care practices can improve access to care and benefit patients and providers.
For HELP Committee meetings: The priorities we will discuss will include youth mental health, workforce programs, funding for integrated care, and enforcing parity between physical and mental health coverage. Examples of stories that will help bring those issues to life include: challenges facing students; your work in integrated primary care settings and differences integrated care makes for patient outcomes; or difficulties with differences in how insurers cover mental and behavioral health compared to physical health.
For meetings with Congressional leadership: Meetings with Congressional leadership offices will have a slightly different focus than those with committee staff. Leadership offices will be deciding what legislation to prioritize at the end of the year and relying on committees to provide the substance, so you will want to convey to them that mental/behavioral health legislation is a must on their end-of-year schedule. APA Services staff can share with them how we are working with committees on content.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to learn the provisions for all of the bills listed?
No, APA staff will be with you in all your meetings and will discuss the legislation. Your role will be to focus on telling stories that illustrate the need for comprehensive mental and behavioral health legislation. You can find more guidance in the “How Is Our Messaging Different This Summit” section.
Do I have to schedule my Hill visits for November 14?
No. Our partner, Soapbox Consulting, is handling all scheduling for legislative hill visits for November 14.
When will I get my schedule from Soapbox?
All Hill Day schedules will be emailed to you by Soapbox at the latest on Friday, November 11. On the “Meeting Roster” button next to each meeting, you can find the names and email addresses of your fellow advocates for each meeting so you can reach out in advance to introduce yourselves.
What if I can no longer make the November 14 Hill visits?
Please contact us at advocacy@apa.org as soon as possible so we may remove you from the congressional meeting schedule.
What platform is the Summit utilizing?
The Advocacy Summit will be hosted on Zoom. Please ensure that you have the most current Zoom version (5.6.3) by downloading the recent client for meetings here.
How can I attend the Summit?
All participants may join the Advocacy Summit via zoom at 11am EDT on November 13 by clicking this link.
What is the program for the Summit?
The program for the Summit is available here.
How can I attend the Summit’s debriefing session?
All participants may join the Summit’s debriefing session on Monday, November 14, between 3:00pm and 5:00pm EDT via Zoom by clicking this link. This is an optional session – you are welcome to drop in at your convenience and share how your meetings went, and you do not need to stay for the entire duration of the meeting.