Both major party nominees for president offer scant details on how they would handle mental health.
Vice President Kamala Harris, who is running a campaign on a tight timeline after taking over the top of her party's ticket in July, has yet to outline her full policy agenda. The Democratic National Committee platform, published Aug. 18, calls for additional funding for the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline, community behavioral clinics and stronger mental health parity requirements for insurers.
The Republican National Committee platform does not mention mental or behavioral health.
Here is what former President Donald Trump, the Republican nominee and Ms. Harris have said about mental health:
Former President Donald Trump
- Mr. Trump has proposed institutionalizing unhoused people with mental illness. In a video posted on his campaign website in April 2023, Mr. Trump said his administration would ban urban camping wherever possible, and get people with substance use disorder and common mental health conditions into treatment.
"And for those who are severely mentally ill and deeply disturbed, we will bring them back to mental institutions, where they belong, with the goal of reintegrating them back into society once they are well enough to manage," Mr. Trump said. - While in office, Mr. Trump supported the repeal of the Affordable Care Act, which would remove mental health coverage as an essential health benefit for marketplace plans. The law also requires insurers to cover preventive care, including mental health screenings, at no cost to members.
In November, Mr. Trump said he planned to replace the ACA if he wins a second term. In August, a Trump campaign spokesperson told The New York Times that "President Trump is not running to terminate the Affordable Care Act. He is running to make healthcare actually affordable." - In 2020, Mr. Trump signed the National Suicide Hotline Designation Act, which designated 988 as the universal number for the national suicide prevention and mental health crisis hotline.
- In 2018, Mr. Trump signed an executive order directing the VA, the Defense Department, and the Department of Homeland Security to coordinate access to mental healthcare and suicide prevention for veterans. The order was designed to focus on veterans in their first year separating from military service. In 2019, Mr. Trump ordered the establishment of the Veteran Wellness, Empowerment and Suicide Prevention Task Force.
- Mr. Trump signed the CARES Act in March 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The law included $425 million for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The CARES Act also expanded Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics and allowed the Department of Veterans Affairs to expand mental health services via telehealth.
Vice President Kamala Harris
- As vice president, Ms. Harris led the Blueprint for Addressing the Maternal Health Crisis, which included launching the National Maternal Mental Health Hotline, and investments in training on mental health and substance use disorders for maternity care providers.
- The Biden-Harris administration expanded the Medicaid Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics to 10 additional states. The 2024 Democratic National Committee platform calls for permanent funding for Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics.
- The administration supported and signed the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which included $185.7 million in funding for organizations providing mental health support to children and families, and block grants to all 50 states to support mental health crisis response.
- The administration led the implementation of 988, which received around $125 million in additional funding from the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. The DNC platform calls for continued investment in the 988 lifeline.
- In 2023, the administration proposed tougher mental health parity standards for insurers. The proposed rules would close a loophole in the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act that excludes non-federal government health plans from parity standards. President Biden is "calling on Congress to expand Medicare's coverage for mental health care, applying the same parity protections to Medicare beneficiaries," according to the 2024 DNC platform.