SECTION 1.
The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(a) Even before the pandemic, our nation was facing a mental health crisis. Regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, education, or income, mental health disorders do not discriminate. The problem is now so pervasive in the United States that 44,000,000 adults have a mental health disorder.
(b) One-half of all mental illness develops by 14 years of age and three-quarters by 24 years of age. Early intervention and prevention of behavioral health conditions are critical to the success of an individual’s health, educational goals, and social relationships.
(c) The state has made significant strides to preserve both the incentives for providers to offer their services and for the patients to be able to access the important mental health care they need, but more work needs to be done.
(d) Many employers have stepped up to provide support for their employees by increasing the availability and accessibility of behavioral health benefits, whether in-person or virtually.
(e) One part of the solution is ensuring access to remotely available and immediate resources through employee assistance programs (EAPs).
(f) The United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration explains the importance of EAPs, stating they help employees with personal problems in part by helping them identify and address a wide range of health, financial, and social issues, including mental or substance use disorders, and by offering services and resources to help people with assessments, referrals to treatment, and short-term counseling.
(g) All federal executive branch agencies are required to make EAPs available, according to the United States Office of Personnel Management. Approximately 44 percent of employers with more than 100 employees and 25 percent of worksites with 15 to 99 employees, inclusive, also offered EAPs or similar health promotion programs to their employees as of 2019, according to a study by the American Journal of Health Promotion.
(h) There is an urgent need in the health care landscape for models that can provide high-quality and cost-effective mental health resources, but current state health care law and regulation regarding EAPs do not meet the urgent need for accessible, quality, short-term mental health care options. The law needs review and updating to ensure that the state can take advantage of new technology and improved opportunities for California’s employers and working families to receive timely and effective treatment.