A Look at the Mental Health Provisions in the New Gun Law

The gun safety law forged through tense bipartisan talks in the Senate last month has been heralded as the first federal legislation in three decades to combat rising gun violence. The new law wants to improve mental health services.

The law's provisions to enhance background checks for younger buyers, encourage states to implement their own " red flag laws", and close the boyfriend loophole have been the focus of news coverage. Less attention has been given to the mental health programs.

Jeffrey Swanson is a professor at the Duke University School of Medicine who studies the intersection of gun violence and mental illness.

The legislation spearheaded by a small group of senators after the Uvalde, Texas, school shooting was a result of Republicans insistence that any gun reform effort must also address mental health.

America's gun violence epidemic can't be solved through the use of mental health. If we have an agreement between Democrats and Republicans to spend billions of additional dollars on mental health treatment, especially for vulnerable communities, let's take that opportunity.

While mental health advocates are happy Congress is authorizing new funds for their cause, they also expressed concern that it would perpetuate the idea that people with mental health disorders are mostly responsible for gun violence. A small percentage of violent acts are committed by people with serious mental illnesses. Mental illness sufferers are more likely to be victims of violence than the general population.

Hannah Wesolowski is the Chief Advocacy Officer at the National Alliance on Mental Illness. Mental health is not the cause of someone being violent.

There is a question about whether this increased investment can make a difference in the fight against gun violence. Key mental health aspects are included in the new law.

The legislation has something in it.

The cost of the new law is estimated by the Congressional Budget Office to be $13 billion, of which $1 billion will be used to boost the number of mental health counselors in schools.

There are other allocations.

• $80 million over four years for a pediatric mental health care access program, which allows pediatricians to provide mental health services via telehealth. An additional $60 million over four years is directed toward training primary care clinicians to provide mental health services to young people.
• $250 million over four years to increase the Community Mental Health Services block grants to states to help fill in blanks in a state’s mental health system, such as creating care programs for adults and children with serious mental illnesses or emotional disturbances.
• $240 million over four years would be added to Project AWARE, which provides grants to mental and behavioral health organizations, community groups, and schools to raise students’ awareness of and connect them to mental health services in schools.
• $150 million this year for the new 988 National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which launches in mid-July.

Up to $8.6 billion in funding will be provided over the next 10 years to support the build-out of certified community behavioral health clinics in every state. States would need to apply in order for the program to start.

Annual reports submitted to Congress show behavioral health outcomes vary by state, but other data shows the clinics have saved money and scored well on certain measures. The data on these clinics was incomplete, which made it difficult to evaluate their effectiveness in improving behavioral health.

When will these mental health programs start?

The director of the Center for Health Information and Research at Arizona State University said it was difficult to know how effective the new spending would be at improving mental health.

It is hard to say if the bill will improve mental health.

Some of the funding will start this year and go on for several years. Spending streams may not start until later in the decade. Government funding must be planned a long time in advance. Mental health programs can be beefed up quickly.

Advocates and researchers said that more money going to mental health will be beneficial.

Is it possible that it will stem gun violence?

The definition of gun violence depends on how you define it.

More than half of gun deaths in the US are suicides.

Red flag laws, which have been shown to reduce suicide rates, can be implemented thanks to the new law. In 19 states and the District of Columbia, family members, police, or doctors can petition a court to temporarily remove guns from people they fear will harm themselves or others.

One suicide was prevented for every 10 to 20 guns removed, according to a research project led by Swanson.

Mental health spending may not be enough to stop gun violence such as in Uvalde, at a supermarket in Buffalo, New York, and during a Fourth of July parade in Highland Park, Illinois.

Most people with mental illness aren't violent.

KHN produces in-depth journalism about health issues. Policy Analysis and Polling are two of the major operating programs at KFF. Information on health issues to the nation is provided by KFF.