At a time when Congress is working on tossing out the Affordable Care Act, which mandates mental health care, a new poll from UC Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies shows large majorities of Californians across all demographics and in all regions of the state support health coverage for mental health.
A Berkeley IGS Poll conducted in May indicates that three out of four Californians — including almost six in 10 Republican voters and others who describe themselves as politically conservative — favor health insurance plan coverage of mental health and chemical dependency problems.
Some 83 percent of residents would seek such help if they needed it, the poll found.
“While Congress is debating changes and cuts to health insurance programs, the people of California are clear that they value coverage for mental health and substance use disorders, coverage that many insurance plans failed to offer before the ACA,” said Catherine Teare, an associate director of the California Health Care Foundation. “This is something that conservatives and liberals can agree on in this state.”