This issue brief highlights state legislation passed in 2024 that aims to improve access to mental health care and includes policy recommendations that may be implemented in states across the country. Legislation covered in this issue brief falls within the following key categories:
- Child and Adolescent Mental Health
- Mental Health Workforce
- Health Insurance
- Medication Access
- Inclusive Care
- Housing
Many public policy issues impact mental health and are worthy of policymakers’ attention. However, in the interest of creating an accessible and usable brief for advocates and other interested stakeholders, the brief’s scope is specific to state policies that impact individuals’ access to mental health care and services. The brief is not comprehensive; it is intended to discuss trends that improve access to mental health care through state policies.
This brief is the second publication in a larger series – NAMI’s 2024 State Legislation Issue Brief Series – which also examines new state mental health laws from 2024 addressing criminal justice and 988 and crisis services.
Conclusion
Every individual with a mental health condition deserves care that meets their health, cultural, and linguistic needs and that treats them with dignity and respect. Our country continues to experience a mental health crisis — with more people that need care yet too many barriers to getting that care. Fortunately, in 2024, states across the country continued to enact legislation and strengthen policies to help reduce barriers in accessing mental health care and improve the lives of people affected by mental illness. We encourage state policymakers to learn from one another and to consider the policy recommendations in this issue brief, using featured legislation as examples, to improve access to mental health care in their states.
