Biden signs $140 million Breen bill

Last week, President Joe Biden signed the AONL-supported Lorna Breen Health Care Provider Protection Act (H.R. 1667), which authorizes grants for programs offering behavioral health services to front-line health care workers. The law will direct $140 million over the next three years to suicide prevention strategies, behavioral health, promoting self-care and scaling best practices. The law also directs the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to launch a campaign encouraging health care workers to seek assistance when needed. Lorna Breen, MD, was an emergency physician who died by suicide in April 2020 after struggling with the emotional toll of treating patients during the COVID-19 pandemic. (Medpage Today article, 3/21/22)