New legislation in Illinois would offer people with most commercial insurance to have one free mental health diagnosis each year, WAND reported May 4.
The bill would also require the Illinois Department of Human Services to launch a public education campaign on the importance of mental health and wellness.
Proponents of the bill hope it will help catch more cases of severe mental illness early and destigmatize mental health as well.
"Maybe the idea of therapy is very overwhelming because we live in a society that severely stigmatizes mental health treatment," Rep. Lindsey LaPointe, former social worker, told the news outlet. "Being able to just talk to your regular doctor about your mental health symptoms or maybe you do go to a social worker just for one mental health screening visit."
The free visit would not apply to those with a health savings account, but the bill will exempt individuals with high deductibles who are eligible for an HSA.
Opponents of the bill fear it will make it difficult for individuals who need to make appointments with providers, as more people will seek these services to take advantage of the free visit regardless of diagnosis status.
"To now open this up as a free visit for self-diagnosed or no diagnosis, you just want to access your free visit every year," Rep. Will Hauter told the news outlet. "Millions more people would have this ability. I just see this as a real problem getting people in and appointments for people who really need it."