https://morningconsult.com/opinions/congress-act-mental-health/

Conventional wisdom says that Congress generally won’t achieve much in a Presidential election year as issues begin to get mired in partisan posturing.  But 2016 has been anything but a conventional election year, and this Congress has the opportunity to pass two important bipartisan health bills this year.

We’re talking about the mental health bills before the House and the Senate as well as the Medicare chronic care legislation under development by the Senate Finance Committee.  These bipartisan proposals could improve the lives of millions of Americans and move our health care system in the direction of better integrated and higher value care. It’s time that Congress act on them.

Chronic disease already accounts for the vast majority of health care costs in Medicare and our health care system in general.   Without action, the problem will only get worse.