Policy H.R.1667, the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act, is the health policy I chose to talk about here. The Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act became a law on March 18, 2022, when President Biden signed it. Angela Mills, MD, chair of emergency medicine at Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, says that health care professionals often don’t get help for mental health because of the strong stigma in our society and the medical community, as well as the fear of losing their jobs. This law will give much-needed money to help break down the stigma of mental health care by giving education and training to prevent suicide, deal with other behavioral health issues, and improve well-being. People who work in healthcare have always been under a lot of stress. Most people with mental health problems, though, keep quiet about them in order to keep their jobs. The COVID pandemic has made the stress and pain even worse. The new law is named for Lorna Breen, MD, who was an emergency medicine doctor and faculty member at the Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons and New York-Presbyterian/Columbia University Irving Medical Center. She died by suicide in April 2020, at the height of the first COVID surge, when the number of cases was at its highest.
The goal of the Dr. Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act is to stop people from killing themselves, help people with mental health problems and addiction, and get rid of the shame that comes with asking for help. It gives up to $135 million over three years to improve mental health and resilience and train medical students, residents, nurses, and other professionals in evidence-based strategies for treating mental and substance use disorders. During the pandemic, one in five people who worked in health care quit. Every year, 400 doctors in the United States take their own lives. 60% of doctors who work in emergency rooms are tired. I think this law will help reduce the number of health care workers with mental health problems and addiction problems.
References
Congress.gov | Library of Congress. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.congress.gov/
Dr. Lorna Breen health care provider protection act signed into law. Columbia University Irving Medical Center. (2022, March 23). Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.cuimc.columbia.edu/news/lorna-breen-health-care-provider-act-signed-law
H.R.1667 – dr. Lorna Breen health care provider protection act 117th … (n.d.). Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/house-bill/1667

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