Washington, DC - March 21, 2010 - The Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law congratulates the President and the House of Representatives for the historic, final passage of the health care reform legislation, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590), along with the Health Care and Education Affordability Reconciliation Act of 2010 (HR 4872) which makes improvements to the Senate bill. The reforms will give quality, affordable health care to nearly all Americans for the first time in our nation's history.

"We applaud President Obama and the House members who had the courage to give health care to all Americans," said Robert Bernstein, executive director of the Bazelon Center. "Passage of health care reform is a victory for all of us- the uninsured, underinsured and insured. We as advocates have been working for this day for decades," Bernstein added.

"These reforms will allow Americans to achieve full health and recovery through significant investments in expanded health care access, including mental health, substance use, rehabilitation and prevention services, as well as collaborative care and chronic care management," said Laurel Stine, director of federal relations at the Bazelon Center. "This is particularly notable given that four of the ten leading causes of disability in the United States are mental disorders and 87 percent of Americans cite lack of insurance coverage as the top reason for not seeking mental health services," Stine added.

"Furthermore, these reforms are truly significant triumphs in the integration of mental health in health care," said Stine. "Building upon the recent congressional victory of mental health parity in 2008, millions of Americans will have parity benefits and the guarantee of mental health coverage and will not live in fear of being denied coverage due to a pre-existing condition, such as a mental disorder."