Connecticut State Senator Ted Kennedy Jr, D-Branford, is urging his colleagues to pass a bill that would allow more access to mental health services. He has been a longtime advocate for having equal insurance coverage for physical and mental health.
To that end, he says his bill ensures that mental health screening is covered as part of an annual health checkup. Kennedy says a state law is necessary because the Republican Congress and the Trump Administration are rolling back federal healthcare mandates.
“Unfortunately because of the developments that have taken effect on the national stage, a lot of these protections are uncertain, he said. "And so that’s why many states, such as Connecticut, are really stepping up, to ensure that at least in our state, some of these basic mental health services are being provided.”
There’s less than a month left in the state legislative session, so Kennedy is urging his colleagues to make passage of the bill a priority. Kennedy was speaking to reporters at a news conference at the state legislative office building in Hartford. He was joined by a bipartisan group of legislators and mental health advocates. The bill has already won unanimous approval in the General Assembly’s Insurance Committee.
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