Could Real Mental Health Reform be on the Horizon?
Last week, by a 422-2 vote, the House of Representatives passed one of the most significant mental health care bills since 1963. The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act is intended to fill in gaps in the country's mental health care system by providing more hospital beds for people dealing with mental illness who will need short-term hospitalization. The bill would also require that the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) establish an inter-agency committee to create evidence-based findings into systems of care. HIPPA provisions may also be reinterpreted to further permit parents access to their seriously mentally ill child's medical information and treatment plan when their child is 18 years or older.
Currently, the federal government spends $130 billion per year toward mental health care. Yet there is still a shortage of about 100,000 psychiatric beds in the U.S. This has had some dire consequences, such as when Austin Deeds, son of Virginia State Senator Creigh Deeds, stabbed his father in the head and chest before killing himself. Just a day earlier, Austin had been evaluated under an emergency custody order for mental health issues. No psychiatric bed was available for Deeds, so he was released. Some of the largest "mental health care facilities" in the country are in jails.
SAMHSA does not employee a single psychiatrist among its 500+ employees. The bill would also create a new federal position of assistant secretary of mental health and substance use disorders. And the position would have to be filled by either a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist.
In 2012, 57.2% of adults with any kind of mental illness did not receive treatment according to Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to addressing the needs of those with mental illness. The House mental health bill is a solid first step toward benefiting the seriously mentally ill, such as those with bipolar and schizophrenia disorders.
Do you have a loved one suffering from mental illness? Do you know about the new ABLE Accounts? Feel free to Contact me about our Special Needs Planning Package.