{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-legislation-expanding-access-to-mental-health-care-signed-into-law", "Schatz Legislation Expanding Access To Mental Health Care Signed Into Law", "2020-12-28", "2020", "2020-12", "Democrat", "Senate", "HI", "Brian Schatz", "S001194", "www.schatz.senate.gov", "schatz", "https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases", "scraper", "HONOLULU \u2013 Last night, legislation authored by U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawai\u2018i) that will expand access to mental health care was signed into law as part of the annual appropriations bill. The provision, which was originally part of Schatz\u2019s CONNECT for Health Act, will allow Medicare beneficiaries across the country to permanently use telehealth to receive mental health services remotely, including in their homes.\n\n\u201cThis will make it easier for more people in every part of Hawai\u2018i to see a mental health care provider by just using their smart phones or home computers,\u201d said Senator Schatz. \u201cTelehealth is about giving more people access to health care.\u201d\n\nTelehealth has seen a sharp rise in use since the start of pandemic as patients seek to avoid traveling to hospitals and other providers and instead receive care at home. New data shows that the number of Medicare beneficiaries using telehealth services increased by 11,718 percent in just a month and a half during the pandemic. In particular, the use of telehealth for mental health services with a psychiatrist or psychologist rose significantly, with almost half a million beneficiaries receiving mental health services through telehealth.\n\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-06-28T00:42:23Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.schatz.senate.gov/news/press-releases/schatz-legislation-expanding-access-to-mental-health-care-signed-into-law"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.4423190150409937, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}