Dear Senators Kaine and Young and Representatives Wild and McKinley:
On behalf of the undersigned organizations, we would like to thank you for introducing the “Dr.
Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act” (S. 610/H.R. 1667). This bipartisan, bicameral
legislation will help reduce and prevent mental and behavioral health conditions, suicide, and burnout,
as well as increase access to evidence-based treatment for physicians, medical students, and other
health care professionals, especially those who continue to be overwhelmed by the COVID-19
pandemic.
The stigma surrounding mental illness is a well-known barrier to seeking care among the general
population, but it can have an even stronger impact among health care professionals. For most
physicians and other clinicians, seeking treatment for mental health sparks legitimate fear of resultant
loss of licensure, loss of income, or other meaningful career setbacks as a result of ongoing stigma.
Such fears have deterred them from accessing necessary mental health care, leaving many to suffer in
silence, or worse. In fact, physicians have a significantly higher risk of dying by suicide than the general
public.
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