Health Care

The Issue

The American Council on Education (ACE) works on a variety of health-care issues and advocates for policies that consider the needs of students as well as the particular circumstances of campuses. ACE took a leading role in discussing how to support institutions and students throughout all phases of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the aftermath of the pandemic, a mental health crisis among students has emerged and intensified. ACE has urged lawmakers and regulators to support and prioritize the mental and behavioral health needs of students when crafting policy. In addition, as various bills and regulations to modify the Affordable Care Act have been proposed in the years since it was signed into law in 2010, ACE has routinely advocated for policies that protect institutions and help them support their students.

Our Work

May 5, 2025

Engaging State Policymakers to Support College Student Mental Health: A Resource Guide for Campus Leaders

This toolkit provides knowledge and resources to help campus leaders, staff, and students advocate for increased state support and funding for college student mental health.

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May 1, 2025

Key Mental Health in Higher Education Stats

Critical information on the mental health crisis among college students.

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April 15, 2025

Talking Points: Federal Telemental Health Authorization

We urge Congress to permit telehealth services across state lines for college students dealing with mental health issues.

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November 28, 2023

Statement to the Senate Finance Committee on Telehealth in Higher Education

On behalf of 11 other higher education associations, ACE submitted a statement to the Senate Finance Subcommittee on Health Care regarding the importance of access to telehealth services, particularly for mental health, for college students.

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October 4, 2023

Comments on Mental Health Parity Act NPRM

ACE, on behalf of 18 other higher education organizations, sent comments to the departments of Labor, Treasury, and Health and Human Services urging them to ease college students' access to mental health services as they amend regulations to the Mental...

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April 13, 2022

Letter Urging Congress to Support Student Mental Health Care Needs

Letter from a coalition of nearly 100 organizations to the leaders of the House and Senate education committees, the Senate Finance Committee, and the House Energy and Commerce Committee strongly urging them to prioritize the needs of college students ...

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March 14, 2022

Letter of Support for the TREAT Act Amendment to the PREVENT Pandemics Act

Letter to Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions leaders requesting the inclusion of the telemedicine-focused TREAT Act amendment to the HELP Committee’s PREVENT Pandemics Act.

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October 1, 2021

Assessing the Impact of COVID-19 Federal Contract Requirements on Colleges and Universities

The Biden administration has issued guidance to implement its executive order mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for federal contractors. This issue brief will help you sort through the details and plan your institution's response.

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June 4, 2021

Letter to the House on the Improving Mental Health Access for Students Act

ACE and the higher education associations signing this letter are concerned that the legislation fails to provide campuses with sufficient flexibility in the specific resources they highlight and the manner in which they are shared with students.

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May 12, 2021

Letter to Senate on the Improving Mental Health Access for Students Act

Letter to Sens. John Kennedy and Kyrsten Sinema on the Improving Mental Health Access for Students Act, a bill that would require all colleges and universities to include certain mental health hotline numbers on student ID cards.

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April 5, 2021

Issue Brief on Potential COVID-19 Vaccine Requirements at Colleges and Universities for Fall 2021

The brief looks at issues such as whether institutions can require students to be vaccinated with a COVID-19 vaccine and other questions involved in making the decision.

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March 8, 2021

Higher Education and the Future of Telehealth

Letter to the chairs and ranking members of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce and Subcommittee on Health following the subcommittee's March 2 hearing on “The Future of Telehealth: How COVID-19 is Changing the Delivery of Virtual Care.”

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December 14, 2020

Letter to Congress in Support of the TREAT Act

From ACE and 53 other associations to congressional leaders to request that Congress enact the Temporary Reciprocity to Ensure Access to Treatment Act to ensure temporary reciprocity in licensing health professionals so they can practice across state l...

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April 2, 2020

Letter on Telemedicine Licensing Reciprocity

Letter to the nation's governors urging them to provide reciprocity in licensing health care and mental health care professionals to enable them to practice across state lines during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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September 25, 2017

Letter to Senate on the Graham-Cassidy Bill to Repeal the Affordable Care Act

Letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer on the healthcare legislation recently proposed by Senators Graham, Cassidy, Heller and Johnson on behalf of ACE and about 20 other higher education associations.

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June 27, 2017

Letter to Senate Leaders on the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017

Letter to Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) from ACE and 18 other higher education associations about the serious concerns the groups have with the Better Care Reconciliation Act of 2017, the Senate bill ...

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May 27, 2016

Analysis of the IRS Notice from Ernst & Young Regarding Graduate Student Health Insurance Subsidies

An analysis of the IRS notice from Ernst & Young LLP regarding Affordable Care Act rules for institutions offering subsidized student health coverage to graduate students.

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March 1, 2016

Fact Sheet: The ACA and Graduate Student Subsidies for SHIP Coverage

On Feb. 5, 2016, the departments of Treasury, Health and Human Services, and Labor issued guidance that providing graduate students with student health insurance plan coverage is not permitted under the ACA’s employer mandate.

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October 1, 2014

A Strategic Primer on College Student Mental Health

A report by NASPA: Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, the American Council on Education, and the American Psychological Association focusing on student mental health issues. Includes examples of practice that contribute to student ment...

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August 13, 2014

Letters Endorsing Bills Exempting Student Workers from the ACA Employer Mandate

ACE and a group of seven higher education associations have endorsed two bills that would exempt full-time students from the Affordable Care Act’s employer mandate, which requires large employers—including colleges and universities—to offer health insu...

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April 18, 2012

Letter to the Department of Health and Human Services on Self-Funded Student Health Plans

A request for clarification in regulatory guidance on how self-funded student health benefit plans may be recognized as providing minimum essential coverage under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act.

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See all of our work on this topic

Latest News

June 6, 2024

The State of Student Affairs: Campus Protests, Mental Health, and Supporting Students

NASPA President Kevin Kruger joins the podcast to talk about the challenges facing students—and student affairs professionals—in 2024, includng the spring protests over the war in Gaza, student mental health, and DEI.

March 21, 2024

dotEDU Live: Student-Athlete Unions and the Mental Health Crisis in Higher Ed

ACE’s Steven Bloom, assistant vice president of government relations, joins hosts Jon Fansmith and Sarah Spreitzer to explore the complicated relationship between student-athletes and unions.

March 11, 2024

ACE Holds Student Mental Health Briefing on Capitol Hill

As part of efforts to address the growing student mental health crisis on college campuses, ACE hosted a briefing for congressional staff on Capitol Hill March 6.

October 30, 2023

New Brief Gives Guidance on Top Student Mental Health Issues for Higher Ed Leaders

ACE has published a new brief to help guide higher education leaders on how to best support the higher education community and beyond as student mental health concerns on campuses continue to rise.

October 10, 2023

Associations Urge Administration to Prioritize Mental Health Care for College Students

ACE and other higher education groups sent a letter last week to the Department of Labor to educate and focus staff on the issue of college student mental health, which hasn’t received the same level of attention as youth mental health at the K-12 level.

March 29, 2023

Joint Statement by ACE and the American College Health Association on Safeguarding Student Health and Well-being

As leading higher education organizations, we support the efforts of our colleges and universities to provide a high-quality educational experience to all who attend.

March 23, 2023

Becoming a Health Promoting Campus: Facilitating Student, Staff, and Faculty Success While Contributing to the Public Good

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic in December 2020, The University of Alabama at Birmingham became the first university in the United States to formally adopt the Okanagan Charter and become an internationally recognized Health Promoting University.

Held Quarterly

Supporting Mental Health on Campus Learning Circles

Committed to the well-being of students, faculty, and staff? Join a Supporting Campus Mental Health Learning Circle. Participants will learn from each other about strategies to center mental health for students, faculty, and staff.

August 30, 2022
9:00 a.m.–10:20 a.m. ET

Mental Health in Higher Education Roundtable

The opening portion of the Mental Health in Higher Education Roundtable included a fireside chat with U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy. The roundtable was generously sponsored by Lumina Foundation.

August 19, 2022

Back to School Prep: Monkeypox, COVID, Public Service Loan Forgiveness for Your Campus

With the fall semester about to begin, the Biden administration is getting the word out to campuses on two key topics: Preparing for the latest phase of COVID-19 and the new challenge of monkeypox, and taking advantage of changes to PSLF ahead of Oct. 31.

August 9, 2022

College Leaders Express Concern About the Impact of Supreme Court Ruling Overturning Abortion Rights

A group of college presidents met with Vice President Kamala Harris Aug. 8 at the White House to discuss the consequences for colleges and students of the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Dobbs v. Jackson Women's Health Organization.

July 20, 2022

House Passes Bipartisan Legislation to Address Student Mental Health

The House has passed two bills that seek to address the growing mental health crisis on college campuses: the Enhancing Mental Health and Suicide Prevention Through Campus Planning Act and the Campus Prevention and Recovery Services for Students Act.

May 31, 2022

Webinar Helps Colleges Learn More About Using Federal Relief Dollars to Support Student Mental Health

Watch the May 25 ACE-Department of Education webinar to learn more about how federal relief dollars can help colleges and universities expand mental health resources for their students.

December 13, 2021

Legal Challenges Complicate Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors, Including Universities

In the latest development on vaccine mandates, a federal district court in Georgia last week blocked President Biden’s mandate for millions of federal contractors’ employees to get vaccinated against COVID-19.

November 8, 2021

Biden Administration Announces New Vaccine Rules for Public and Private Sectors

Last week, the Biden administration rolled out two new COVID-19 vaccine regulations covering over 100 million employees, including at colleges and universities.

October 18, 2021

ACE, Higher Ed Groups Urge Flexibility for International Students as COVID-19 Travel Ban Is Lifted

ACE and other higher education associations are calling on the administration and the CDC to make the Biden administration's new travel policy flexible enough to accommodate students and scholars from countries where the vaccine is not widely available.

October 4, 2021

What Colleges and Universities Need to Know About the Biden Vaccine Mandate for Federal Contractors

A new ACE issue brief summarizes the Biden administration’s new guidance on mandating COVID-19 vaccinations for federal contractors, including colleges and universities.

September 20, 2021

While Biden's Vaccine Mandate Will Impact Colleges and Universities, Details Remain Unclear

President Biden’s recently announced COVID-19 action plan has a number of provisions that will impact colleges and universities in the coming weeks and months, although many of the specifics are still unknown.

June 7, 2021

CDC, ACHA Release Guidance on How Campuses Can Operate Safely This Fall

CDC and ACHA have released new guidance on how higher ed can operate safely this fall as the COVID-19 pandemic continues, taking into consideration the substantial progress the US has made in the months since vaccinations were made available.

College Student Mental Health and Well-Being: A Survey of Presidents

To better understand how college and university presidents are navigating issues of student mental health and well-being, ACE conducted its third Pulse Point survey at the end of April.

April 5, 2021

ACE Issue Brief Suggests Framework for Campus Vaccination Requirement Questions

The brief looks at issues such as whether institutions can require students to be vaccinated with one of the three COVID-19 vaccines so far approved in the United States, and some of the questions involved in making the decision to do so.