Mental health, Addiction & COVID-19

WATCH – CO-OCCURING SOLUTIONS –

June 23, 2021 – Mental health cases have grown in recent months: 41.5 percent of U.S. adults had anxiety or depressive disorder in February, compared with 36.4 percent in August, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The percentage of adults who said they needed but did not receive care for mental health issues also increased during the period, from 9.2 percent to 11.7 percent.

Rep. David Joyce (R-Ohio), co-chair of the Addiction, Treatment and Recovery Caucus, said increased internet access can help address some of those needs. Rep. John Katko (R-N.Y.), co-chair of the Mental Health Caucus, said addiction in some cases has a direct tie in to mental health issues that were exacerbated by the pandemic. “If you also look at the fact that heroin addiction and heroin overdose death are on the rise during the pandemic, that’s not a coincidence because a lot of the people that are using heroin are self medicating to mask mental health issues,” Katko said at the event sponsored by The Hartford. Bipartisan lawmakers on Tuesday called for legislative action to help tackle addiction and mental health needs coming out of the coronavirus pandemic.

Speaking at The Hill’s “Mental Health, Addiction and the COVID-19 Pandemic” event, Rep. Jahana Hayes (D-Conn.) said it’s important to focus on the medical aspects when drafting legislation.

“Those are medical issues that we have to address just as we would any other health condition,” Hayes, a member of the Congressional Black Caucus’s Youth Suicide and Mental Health Task Force, told The Hill’s Steve Clemons.