FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Doctors for America
PO Box: 21161
2300 18th St NW Lbby
Washington, DC 20009-9996
February 19, 2025
Doctors For America Community Health and Prevention Committee Calls on Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to Retract Harmful Statement on Mental Health Pharmacologic Therapy as Secretary of Health and Human Services
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Doctors for America (DFA) strongly condemns the administration’s recent executive order on reducing medication use in mental health treatment and urges Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to recant his statements targeting mental health pharmacologic therapy. This is extremely dangerous and threatens access to essential medications for the millions of Americans who rely on these treatments for chronic health conditions such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, and ADHD.
Mental health disorders affect one-in-five adults (57.8 million Americans), including 21 million Americans who have suffered from at least one major depressive episode in their lifetime. In 2022, 49,000 Americans died by suicide, making this the 11th leading cause of death overall in the US. These statistics underscore the widespread impact of mental health conditions and highlight the importance of effective treatment options. For many, mental health pharmacologic therapy is not just an option—it is a critical necessity.
Access to mental health treatment is paramount for our population, and discouraging the use of appropriate pharmacologic therapy sets a dangerous precedent. It has long been established through extensive research and clinical trials that these medications are safe and effective, providing millions of individuals with relief from debilitating symptoms and improving their quality of life. Furthermore, while it is true that all pharmacologic therapy carries some degree of risk and requires careful risk-benefit assessments at the level of each patient, postulating that these medications pose an undue danger at a population level increases the stigma surrounding mental health treatment and overshadows the life-saving potential of these therapies for many individuals. The perpetuation of harmful misinformation that portrays essential medications as unreliable or dangerous, at best negatively impacts public perception of mental health care, and at worse could potentially deter individuals from seeking potentially life-saving therapy, resulting in further harm or death.
The real crisis surrounding mental health care in America is not the number of prescriptions – it is the overwhelming lack of access to comprehensive and affordable care for millions in need. Targeting psychiatric pharmacology will only deepen this crisis by pushing those in need further away from effective treatment, potentially towards unregulated or unsafe alternatives causing further harm.
We call on policymakers and the Secretary of Health and Human Services to reject policies and statements that further lead to the stigmatization of mental health treatment, and instead commit to protecting the health of millions of Americans by expanding access to healthcare, increasing research funding for mental health conditions, and reducing barriers to treatment for Americans.
Mental health treatment is healthcare. Restricting access to treatment and demonizing pharmacologics is not the solution – it is part of the problem.
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About Doctors for America:
Doctors for America mobilizes doctors and medical students to be leaders in putting patients over politics to improve the health of our patients, communities, and nation. DFA is an organization of over 27,000 physician and medical student advocates in all 50 states, representing all areas of specialization. DFA teaches physicians and medical students advocacy skills and does advocacy at a state and federal level. Our impact areas focus on access to affordable care, community health and prevention, and health justice and equity. DFA focuses solely on what is best for our patients, not on the business side of medicine, and does not accept any funding from pharmaceutical or medical device companies, which uniquely positions DFA as the organization that puts patients over politics and patients over profits. Find out more at doctorsforamerica.org and on Twitter drsforamerica or Bluesky drsforamerica.bsky.social.
