Advocates, clinicians and state officials urge lawmakers to enforce mental health parity via SB 10

Christian Damiana, public policy manager at Mental Health Connecticut, opened a press event urging lawmakers to enact stronger enforcement measures for behavioral health parity and said the coalition’s language will be incorporated into Senate Bill 10, the Senate Democrats’ caucus priority bill on health insurance.

The coalition — which Damiana said includes about 25 member organizations — is pressing for SB 10 to increase accountability, compliance and transparency so insurers “must be held accountable for mental health parity compliance.” Damiana said the original parity reforms passed in 2019 lacked “teeth” and that the coalition’s bill had 63 co-introductions, roughly one-third of state legislators.

The comments came from clinicians, advocates and state officials who described how current enforcement gaps affect care. “Mental health clinicians are exhausted,” said Dr. Kiki Kennedy, Yale clinical professor of psychiatry and legislative chair for the Connecticut Psychiatric Society, which represents more…