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New U.S. guidelines increase mental health access

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By Jen Christensen

(CNN) — Long-awaited rules have been established to put teeth in a 2008 law requiring doctors and insurers to treat mental illness the same as physical illness, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will announce Friday, a department spokesman said.

Sebelius will make the announcement in a speech at the Rosalynn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy in Atlanta, spokesman Mark Weber said.

The move will greatly increase access to mental health care and services for Americans. The Mental Health Parity Law of 2008 was signed by President George W. Bush.

CNN’s Caleb Hellerman contributed to this report

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