How Presidents Have Shaped Mental Health Care

This President’s Day, NAMI celebrates the many Presidents who have helped to improve the lives of people with mental illness. There is still more work to do, but we’re going to get there together.

Here are a sampling of a dozen actions by U.S. Presidents over the past few decades to support mental health care in our country.

1963

President John F. Kennedy signs the Community Mental Health Act, which launched the country’s system of community mental health centers.

1980

President Jimmy Carter signs the Mental Health Systems Act of 1980, which dedicates $800 million over four years in grants to expand community mental health services.

1990

President George H.W. Bush proclaims the ‘90s as the “Decade of the Brain” to focus attention on the benefits of brain research and signs the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), a landmark bill prohibiting discrimination against individuals with disabilities—including people living with mental illness.

1996

President Bill Clinton signs the first limited mental health parity law: the Mental Health Parity Act (MHPA) to begin addressing disparities in the coverage of mental illness.

1999

President Bill Clinton hosts the first White House Conference on Mental Health, signaling to the nation that reducing the stigma around mental illness is important.

2002

President George W. Bush appoints the New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, a committee of mental health experts who issued a report with 19 recommendations for improving services for children, youth and adults living with mental illness.

2004

President George W. Bush signs the Mentally Ill Offender Treatment and Crime Reduction Act (MIOTCRA), which provides resources to communities for alternatives to incarceration for youth and adults with mental illness and co-occurring substance use disorders.

2008

President George W. Bush signs the Paul Wellstone and Pete Domenici Mental Health Parity and Addictions Equity Act of 2008, a comprehensive federal law establishing that coverage in health insurance for mental health and substance abuse treatment must be equivalent to that for other medical conditions.

2010

President Barack Obama signs the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA), which extended federal mental health parity to Medicaid managed care plans and to qualified health plans offered through insurance place marketplaces, or exchanges. 

2011

President Obama signs the Frank Melville Supportive Housing Investment Act of 2010, which increases federal supportive housing resources for individuals with mental illness and other disabilities.

2013

The White House hosts A National Conference on Mental Health and launches the National Dialogue on Mental Health.

2016

The President’s proposed budget includes a new $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care.

These actions by our Presidents are important, but what will our country’s next president do to advance mental health? Celebrate Presidents’ Day by asking presidential candidates questions about mental health. And join us every day in advocating for better mental health care. Sign-up to receive our Advocacy Alerts.