Rep. Huffman Supports Bipartisan Mental Health Bill, Calls on Congressional Leadership to Provide Additional Resources & Strengthen Community- Based Services

July 07, 2016

Washington, D.C.- Representative Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael) voted for the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, a bipartisan compromise that takes key steps toward fixing America’s broken mental health system. While the bill includes many key provisions to improve mental health services, Congressman Huffman also called on Congressional leaders to appropriate the needed funding authorized in the legislation so that every American can access essential mental health services.

Mental illness affects millions of Americans across the country. Approximately 10 million adults in the United States live with a serious mental illness, including 1.2 million adults in California.

“We owe it to our families and our communities to treat mental health just as we do any other public health crisis,” said Rep. Huffman. “Too many Americans, including many on California’s North Coast, who are suffering from mental illness, are unable to access the treatment and support they need. The overwhelming bipartisan support for this legislation is a helpful step toward fixing our broken mental health system, but our work is far from over. While this bill increases tools for addressing those with serious mental illness, we must expand access to mental health options for all Americans including strengthening community-based services, ensuring greater parity for mental health with other medical services, and prioritizing treatment programs instead of unnecessarily burdening our ER rooms.”

The legislation, which passed the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 422-2, received praise from local and statewide mental health practitioners and advocates.

On behalf of the hundreds of people involved with Buckelew programs, I offer my deepest thanks to Rep. Huffman for his insight and leadership in mental health reform. H.R. 2646 is sweeping in its reach and will be comprehensive in its impact. We especially look forward to the opportunity to enhance community-based crisis response systems and expanding Assertive Community Treatment. The policy changes depicted in this legislation show insight into the critical need for research into mental illness and coordination of care for persons with SMI. I look forward to partnering with Rep. Huffman and his colleagues to make the vision of H.R. 2646 real for the communities we serve,” said Cindy L. Myers, PHD, of Buckelew Programs in San Rafael, California.

“Congress has taken an important step to address our country’s mental health crisis. Community Health Centers like ours in rural California look forward to working with our Representatives to build on today’s achievements and ensure we have a system that can respond to and meet the needs of our most vulnerable communities,” said Mary Szecsey, Executive Director, West County Health Centers.

"CAMFT is pleased that the House of Representatives is considering the Murphy bill, which is an important first step in addressing the mental health needs of Americans and improving mental health parity.  More work in this area needs to be done in future legislation, particularly in enhancing access to mental health services for Medicare beneficiaries,” said Patricia Ravitz LMFT, President, California Association of Marriage and Family Therapists

This mental health reform bill would: 

  • Creating Assertive Community Treatment Grant Program:  The bill includes a new Assertive Community Treatment Grant Program, which funds a community-based, voluntary, and evidence-based approach to the treatment of serious mental illness. 
  • Enhancing Community-Based Crisis Response Systems:  The bill directs HHS to award grants to states to enhance community-based crisis response systems.  It also funds the development of bed registries for inpatient psychiatric and residential community mental health and substance use disorder treatment facilities.
  • Creating A New Suicide Prevention Grant Program:  The bill includes a new grant program to develop suicide prevention strategies for adults ages 25 and older – the population currently experiencing the highest number of suicides.
  • Expansion of Medicaid Benefits to Children in Inpatient Psychiatric Care: The bill provides a long overdue statutory change to ensure that children residing in an Institution for Mental Disease (IMDs) are affirmatively entitled to a full range of Early and Periodic Screening, Diagnostic and Treatment (EPSDT) services through the Medicaid program, from their choice of provider.  This benefit is currently standard for all other children in Medicaid.  This provision, a proposal in the President’s FY 2017 budget, equalizes the benefits that children are entitled to when in psychiatric care, ensuring that such children receive all of the medically-necessary services they need during their stay in a defined IMD.
  • Including Steps to Address the Continuing Confusion about the HIPAA Privacy Rule:  First, the bill requires HHS to implement regulations that clarify certain circumstances where HIPAA allows and does not allow a health care provider to share protected health information.  Secondly, it requires HHS to create model training programs to educate health care providers and administrators, as well to educate patients and families, on what health information can be shared and for what reason.
  • Including A Few Small Steps on Improving Mental Health Parity:  Although the bill does not include stronger provisions on mental health parity promoted by Democrats, Democrats are pleased that the bill includes the following small steps:  1) requires HHS to provide better compliance guidance to health plan issuers on complying with parity requirements; 2) requires the development of an action plan for improving mental health parity and addiction equity requirements for health plan issuers; and 3) requires reports on the compliance of plans with mental health parity and addiction equity requirements.

·         Reauthorizing Key Grant Programs:  The bill reauthorizes various key grant programs, including reauthorizing the Garrett Lee Smith Memorial Act, encompassing grants for Suicide Prevention Technical Assistance Centers, Youth Suicide Early Intervention and Prevention Strategies, and Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Services on Campus.  

·         Requiring SAMHSA to Develop A Strategic Plan:  The bill requires SAMHSA to develop a strategic plan, including identifying strategic priorities and measurable objectives for SAMHSA activities, identifying ways to improve services for individuals with serious mental illness and serious emotional disturbances, and ensure programs provide access to evidence-based care.

·         Codifying the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality:  The bill makes this Center, which was created by President Obama, a permanent part of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.  The Center is the government’s lead agency for behavioral health statistics.

·         Codifying New Rule Allowing for Medicaid Managed Care Coverage of Certain Stays in Psychiatric Hospitals and Other Residential Treatment Facilities:  Since 1965, the “IMD Exclusion” has prohibited the use of federal Medicaid funds for care provided to Medicaid patients ages 21-64 in certain types of mental health and substance abuse residential treatment facilities with more than 16 beds.  This bill codifies a new regulation that amends this Exclusion to provide federal Medicaid Managed Care coverage for these beneficiaries in these types of facilities for up to 15 days in any given month.

###