Mental Health Association in New York State, Inc.
(Publication Archives)

Community Connections, Winter 2002/2003

MHANYS Sets Legislative Priorities

With the 2003 Legislative Session soon upon us, MHANYS is nearly complete in formulating its legislative priorities for the upcoming year. After holding a public hearing in October to gather suggestions as to what should be included in the legislative program, the MHANYS’ Government Affairs Committee is considering the following issues:

- Development of a Comprehensive Plan for Community-Based Mental Health Services. A well thought-out plan to provide individuals with the services they need and desire must be developed. Without such a plan, individuals attempting recovery will continue to face setbacks every time they fall through the cracks in the mental health system and between other systems of care.

- Enactment of Insurance Parity for Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Most health insurance policies limit the coverage or charge higher rates for mental health and substance abuse services than they do for physical health services. We must advocate for a mandate that all insurance policies cover and charge the same rates for mental health and substance abuse services as for other physical health services.

- Ensuring Access to Medications. Successful efforts were made last year to curtail the use of preferred drug lists and prior authorization, both of which are designed to control the costs associated with prescription drugs. Such mechanisms must not be enacted, for they can limit the access individuals with mental illnesses have to the newest, most effective prescription drugs, even when these drugs are specifically requested by one’s physician.

- Protections for the Use of Electroconvulsive Therapy. Opinions vary greatly as to the safety and efficacy of this procedure, which involves the application of electrical current to the brain in an effort to treat certain mental illnesses. With very little empirical data regarding the procedure, additional patient protections, including informed consent and the development of an advisory council to recommend appropriate procedures, should be implemented.

- Stabilization of Voluntary Residential Providers. There is a great discrepancy between the rates paid to state-operated residences and those paid to voluntary residences. This has resulted in great difficulty in recruiting and retaining qualified staff for these voluntary residences. Additional resources must be made available to end the practice of underqualified staff overseeing all operations of a residence, including the dispensing of mediations.

- Adult Home Reform. Media reports have identified the horrible conditions that exist in many adult homes throughout the state, in which approximately 12,000 individuals with mental illnesses reside. Reforms must be undertaken to evaluate the needs of adult home residents, enforce penalties on adult home operators endangering the welfare of residents, and a long-term plan must be developed and implemented to provide appropriate housing for this population.

- Children’s Mental Health Services. A general improvement in the services presently provided and the expansion of services for children, as they have been identified in the OMH Action Plan draft, must be enacted.

MHANYS’ expects to finalize the 2003 Legislative Program by the 1st of the year. Once it is adopted, it will be available on MHANYS’ website at www.mhanys.org.

posted 1/28/03