Please vote for HB 656 to strengthen mental health parity in Virginia. As a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, public sector professional and someone who has experienced the impact on mental health challenges on loved ones, it is critical that treatment access is a priority not left as a challenge to individuals who seek help. Behavioral health is HEALTH- timely access to necessary services saves lives. Hold insurance companies accountable to parity and network adequacy standards. Force them to remove un-necessary administrative barriers that undercut behavioral health providers and the medically necessary work they perform. It is time that Mental Health Parity requirements are fully implemented in Virginia

As a licensed counselor in Virginia with over 30 years of experience, I can attest to how difficult it is for many residents to access counseling through their insurance in a reasonable timeframe. Inadequate behavioral health networks and long delays in care are common, even when individuals are motivated to seek help. Delayed or unavailable mental health care can worsen depression and anxiety, contribute to physical symptoms, and increase the risk of crisis. Many of these situations could be mitigated if individuals with emerging or urgent mental health needs were able to see a licensed clinician promptly, rather than relying on emergency rooms as a last resort. HB 656 addresses these challenges by strengthening network adequacy standards and requiring greater accountability from insurers. Treating behavioral health according to the same standards as physical health care would improve access for consumers and encourage more clinicians to participate in insurance networks. For all of these reasons, I hope that the legislature will adopt HB 656.

The Charlottesville Mental Health Consortium strongly supports this bill. As a group of mental health providers who are keenly aware of the difficulty citizens have in receiving mental health services due to lack of parity, we support this effort to enhance enforcement of the mental health parity standards.

As a mental health provider in the state of Virginia who has observed the many ways in which insurance providers are ignoring the mental health parity law I strongly urge this committee to move this bill forward

Virginia continues to rank near the bottom of all the states in access to a mental health professional, and it's getting worse as more professionals stop taking insurance. Increased enforcement of parity laws is needed so more providers will be available to people in need of help. Having worked in mental health awareness and advocacy for several years, I have heard the stories from so many people just wanting to feel better and not escalate into crisis. This bill will help.

As a mental health private practice owner and licensed clinical social worker that provides remote mental health therapy in the state of Virginia and who has observed the many ways in which insurance providers are ignoring the mental health parity law I strongly urge this committee to move this bill forward.

We support HB 656. The attached testimony provides more detailed comments. Thank you.