{"id":2020000,"date":"2023-09-02T01:46:02","date_gmt":"2023-09-02T05:46:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-rep-porter-seeking-to-promote-mental-health-care-coverage-through-congressional-bill\/"},"modified":"2023-09-02T01:51:52","modified_gmt":"2023-09-02T05:51:52","slug":"california-rep-porter-seeking-to-promote-mental-health-care-coverage-through-congressional-bill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-rep-porter-seeking-to-promote-mental-health-care-coverage-through-congressional-bill\/","title":{"rendered":"Rep. Porter of California aims to advance mental health care coverage with a new bill in Congress."},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">34<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fcalifornia-rep-porter-seeking-to-promote-mental-health-care-coverage-through-congressional-bill%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2020000&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><h2>House Rep. \u2063Katie Porter Advocates for Access\u2062 to Mental Health Treatment<\/h2>\n<p>In a passionate roundtable\u200b discussion on August 31, House Rep. Katie Porter criticized insurance companies for their role in hindering patient access to treatment. The\u2064 two-hour event, held at \u2063Be Well OC&#8217;s Orange campus, brought together healthcare experts and community leaders to address the challenges faced by patients.<\/p>\n<p>Ms. \u2064Porter, representing District 47 which includes Huntington Beach and Irvine, emphasized the importance of the \u2062federal Mental \u200cHealth Parity Act\u200b of 2006. This <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/california-rep-porter-seeking-to-promote-mental-health-care-coverage-through-congressional-bill\/\" title=\"Rep. Porter of California aims to advance <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/white-house-releases-list-of-president-trumps-accomplishments-and-it-is-historic\/\" title=\"White House Releases List of President Trump\u2019s Accomplishments \u2013  And It Is Historic!\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/months-after-closing-beaches-newsom-smugly-suggests-people-hit-the-sand-for-their-mental-health\/\" title=\"Months After Closing Beaches, Newsom Smugly Suggests People Hit the Sand for Their Mental Health\">mental health<\/a> care<\/a> coverage with a new bill in Congress.&#8221;>act requires private medical insurance companies<\/a> to cover mental and addiction treatments\u200d that they may otherwise deny. It encompasses therapy, \u2063follow-up care, and prescription medication.<\/p>\n<p>During the roundtable, Ms. Porter urged attendees to\u200d spread awareness about the act&#8217;s \u2064resource hotline. This hotline allows\u200b patients to call the Department of Labor \u2063for assistance in challenging insurance companies that deny their claims.<\/p>\n<blockquote>\n<h3>Related Stories<\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/huntington-beach-launches-be-well-oc-mobile-mental-health-clinic-4007245\">Huntington Beach Launches\u2063 Be Well OC Mobile Mental Health Clinic<\/a><br \/>\n      <br \/>\n      <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">9\/20\/2021<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<li>\n      <a href=\"http:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/us\/oc-supervisors-approve-affordable-housing-project-in-costa-mesa-5409728\">OC Supervisors to Apply for State Funding to \u2062Turn Costa Mesa Motel Into Homeless Shelter<\/a><br \/>\n      <br \/>\n      <span class=\"text-comp-caption\">7\/19\/2023<\/span>\n    <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>Ms. \u2063Porter&#8217;s efforts align with President Biden&#8217;s executive\u200d order on July 25, which strengthens the Mental Health Parity Act. The order requires health plans \u200cto make changes if \u200bthey provide inadequate access to mental health \u2062care. It also addresses loopholes that limit access to \u2063services and increase costs.<\/p>\n<p>Building on the roundtable&#8217;s input, Ms. Porter \u2062is \u2062working on the Behavioral Health Coverage Transparency Act. This bill, co-sponsored by\u2063 Sen. Elizabeth Warren, aims\u200b to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/health-care-professionals-call-for-standardized-provider-directories\/\" title=\"Healthcare experts demand uniform provider directories.\">hold insurance companies accountable<\/a>\u2064 by requiring them\u2064 to pay \u200dmore claims for various\u200b treatments, not \u2064just mental health\u200c and addiction. The bill is currently in the public comment \u2063phase, with lawmakers reviewing public input and \u200cconcerns until early October.<\/p>\n<div>\n<figure style=\"width:600px\" class=\"alignnone\"><figcaption>House Rep. Katie Porter\u2064 (D-Calif.) speaks at a gathering with\u2062 local \u2062leaders and\u2062 mental\u200b health professionals at the Be Well OC offices in Orange, Calif.,\u2063 on Aug. 31, 2023. (John Fredricks\/The Epoch Times)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>&#8220;The fight is going \u2064to continue&#8230; we have \u200bto hold\u200d these insurance companies accountable,&#8221; Ms. Porter declared \u200dduring the meeting. She emphasized that health \u200dplans and insurance companies must fulfill their obligations. When people pay for coverage and\u200c don&#8217;t receive it, it&#8217;s nothing short of theft.<\/p>\n<p>Participants in \u200bthe \u200droundtable also expressed frustration with insurance companies creating barriers to affordable healthcare.\u2062 Despite paying for private insurance, patients often\u2063 face inadequate access to necessary care.<\/p>\n<p>Negar Shekarabi, a\u2064 psychologist\u2064 from the\u2064 University of California\u2013Irvine, shared \u200dher \u200dexperience advocating for staff members when insurance companies deny claims or make it difficult to access \u2064care. Ms. Porter echoed the sentiment, highlighting\u2063 the\u2064 irony of employers hiring advocates\u200b to fight insurance companies that refuse to cover treatments\u200d already paid for.<\/p>\n<p>According to Ms. Shekarabi, even with &#8220;great&#8221; insurance, school staff frequently struggle to receive \u200cadequate mental health care. She\u200d often intervenes on their\u2062 behalf \u200bto ensure they receive \u200bthe necessary treatments.<\/p>\n<p>Department of Labor Secretary Lisa Gomez joined the \u2062discussion, \u2064calling out insurance companies like\u200d Magellan for creating unnecessary roadblocks to mental health care, such as\u2064 therapy.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Access to mental health care and \u2063treatment\u200d should not be more restrictive,&#8221; \u2062Ms. \u2064Gomez emphasized.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>House Rep. Katie Porter criticized insurance companies at a roundtable discussion in Orange, Calif. on Aug. 31. The event aimed to gather insights from healthcare experts and community leaders regarding patient difficulties in obtaining treatment. Ms. Porter&#8217;s objective is to ensure accountability in the health insurance industry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2249,"featured_media":2020001,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[543],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2020000","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-epoch-times"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/cndimages.nyc3.digitaloceanspaces.com\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/IMG_2758-scaled-1.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020000","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2020000"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2020000\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2020001"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2020000"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2020000"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2020000"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}