Mental Health Key Component of President Obama's Gun Control Executive Orders

On January 16, 2013, President Barack Obama issued the Gun Violence Reduction Executive Actions. Of the 23 Executive Actions, 3 in particular are particularly notable to the healthcare industry:  

• No. 20 is an order to "Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover."
• No. 21 is an order to "Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges."
• No. 22 is an order to "commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations."

The orders can be read via the Washington Post.

President Obama also released a memo to the HHS Secretary, instructing the HHS to conduct research on the cause and possible solutions to gun violence, with a focus on the research issues with an impact on public health. Specifically, the memorandum directs HHS to begin by "identifying the most pressing research questions with the greatest potential public health impact, and by assessing existing public health interventions being implemented across the Nation to prevent gun violence." Click to read the memorandum as published in the Federal Register.