Saturday, October 15, 2016

The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646)

Federal - HR 2646
The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (HR2646)
Introduced
June 4, 2015
Description
UPDATE: PASSED HOUSE, 422-2
Authors: Representatives Tim Murphy (R-PA) and Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX)
What it does: This is the strongest mental health reform bill to help people with serious mental illness and their families, and ensure people with SMI have access to the treatment and care they need. HR 2646:
Creates an Assistant Secretary of Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders to coordinate efforts and elevate the importance of mental health and severe mental illness in the federal government;
Awards funding to states and local jurisdictions to implement lifesaving, evidence-based treatment programs, called “assisted outpatient treatment” (AOT) laws for people who are too sick to maintain treatment themselves;
Reforms the discriminatory IMD exclusion barriers to increase the availability of psychiatric inpatient beds;
Clarifies HIPAA to ensure mental health professionals are legally permitted to share critical diagnostic criteria and treatment information with parents or caregivers of patients with serious mental illness;
Focuses the Protection and Advocacy System to better address cases of abuse and neglect -- including advocacy for community services;
Better enforces the Mental Health Parity Law;
Improves integration across federal agencies of programs and funding streams that serve people with SMI;
Improves integration of mental and physical health care in Medicaid;
Supports the RAISE program for early intervention in the treatment of psychosis; and
Bolsters suicide prevention programs.
What’s the status? 
The bill passed with enormous bipartisan support in a vote of 422 yays to 2 nays, following a unanimous vote out of the Energy and Commerce Committee.
What's next? 
We are running out of time this legislative session, and we must focus advocacy efforts on strengthening the currently weak Senate mental health reform bill, S2680 (formerly S1945, which has substantively changed in markup) and ultimately passing a Senate version of the bill. 

Our Position
Support
Commentary
http://cqrcengage.com/treatmentadvocacycenter/app/bill/583823



The good:
The strongly bipartisan bill has passed the House with a landmark 422-2 vote, with support from House Leadership, including Speaker Paul Ryan, and a wide and diverse coalition of mental health advocates. It made it through the process largely intact, maintaining all major provisions to help people with SMI. The bill has been sent with all of this support behind it to the Senate for consideration, where they are working on their own version of mental health reform. 
The bad: 
We are running out of time in this short legislative calendar and in an election year to get mental health reform to the finish line. 
The ugly: 
Most of the important provisions in HR2646 to help people with SMI have yet to be added into the Senate bill, including creating an Assistant Secretary position for mental health and substance use, HIPAA clarification, IMD exclusion reform, and AOT funding. 

Original Sponsor 1

Co-Sponsors 20
Latest Actions See More/Less
  • July 14, 2016 — Referred to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee. Congressional Record p. S5151
  • July 7, 2016 — Katko, R-N.Y., House speech: Personal explanation for roll call vote no.355, and would have voted yea if present. Congressional Record p. E1064
  • July 7, 2016 — Bost, R-Ill., House speech: Personal explanation for roll call vote no.355, and would have voted yea if present. Congressional Record p. E1056-E1057




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