Congress To Consider Three Bipartisan Mental Health Bills

(September, 2015) Three bipartisan bills have been introduced in Congress over the summer to address the nation’s ailing mental health system in the aftermath of recent mass shootings.

In July, Senate Health Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander and Ranking Member Patty Murray (D-Wash.) introduced the Mental Health Awareness and Improvement Act. This legislation strengthens existing programs that help states and local communities prevent suicide, assist children in recovering from traumatic events, promote mental health awareness for teachers and other individuals, and help assess barriers to integrating behavioral health and primary care.

Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA), a clinical psychologist, has also reintroduced the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, which he originally introduced after the Sandy Hook shooting. The legislation is co-sponsored by 105 representatives, and seeks to reform current mental health practices and address the current shortage in psychiatric and mental health providers. The bill also: 

• Establishes an Assistant Secretary for Mental Health and Substance Use Disorders within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; 
• Creates a National Mental Health Policy Laboratory to drive innovative models of care; 
• Allows for same-day billing under Medicaid for treatment of physical and mental health for the same patient, in the same location, on the same day; and,
• Repeals the current Medicaid exclusion on inpatient care for adults with mental illness.

A Senate companion bill, titled the Mental Health Reform Act, was introduced in August by Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA) and Christopher Murphy (D-CT).