Mental Health

One of our greatest needs is for expanded mental health treatment and addiction prevention services. We need to make the investment up front to get people the help they need, require insurance companies to cover mental health and addiction as they would any other physical illness, and work to build dialogue that eliminates the stigma of mental illness and addiction.

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When we talk about improving health care in Illinois, we need to talk about mental health and substance abuse, especially opioid abuse. Specifically, we need to recognize and address the mental health component to opioid abuse and working with health care providers for alternatives to opioids for pain relief. 

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Especially now, after the incredible stresses and anxieties imposed by COVID-19, I believe that we all have a moral duty to provide help to people who are in trouble. We all benefit when people who have been suffering find new ways to help them manage their illness and become productive members of society.