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June
26, 2006
LEGISLATURE COMES TO AN AGREEMENT ON TIMOTHY’S LAW, PASSES LEGISLATION TO ‘BOOT THE SHU’ AND HOUSING WAITING LIST LEGISLATION: As Legislative Sessions go, the past several years have not been particularly positive years for the mental health community, often hampered by tight budgets. However, 2006 appears to mark a turning point in that trend with several major accomplishments that have taken place while the Legislature was in town (and after they left on Friday night). While we plan to provide you with greater detail on these developments in the near future, we wanted to provide everyone with an overview on the outcome of the Legislative Session. Future editions of the Update will not only provide details on these matters, but will include strategy and information on how you can continue to support these bills all the way through to the Governor’s signature. TIMOTHY’S LAW – Certainly the most dramatic of the mental health issues the Legislature tangled with in the last week of Session was Timothy’s Law. On Monday, advocates and legislators, alike, were frantically trying to come to some agreement before midnight on Monday, so as to allow for enough time for an agreed upon bill to “age” and still be considered by the time the Legislature was to have left on Thursday. However, that timeframe scenario turned out to be completely wrong, as Monday became Tuesday, Tuesday became Wednesday, etc., and Timothy’s Law advocates and legislative staff remained at the Capitol working into the wee hours of each morning. On Friday morning, the prospects for any agreement on Timothy’s Law looked quite grim. But, in a fashion only possible in Albany (and maybe Washington), dynamics changed, making an agreement on Timothy’s Law possible. Unfortunately, it was after the Senate had left town around 9:00 p.m. and as the Assembly was wrapping up their business around 11:00 p.m. on Friday that this agreement was finally printed in bill form. With both the Assembly and Senate expected to return to Albany in September, it is our hope that at that time, both houses will be able to pass this agreement and send it to the Governor as well. Following below is the press release the Timothy’s Law Campaign issued on Friday night/Saturday morning that provides details on the agreement itself. Timothy’s
Law Campaign PRESS RELEASE For
Release: Continuing their advocacy beyond the point at which the NYS Legislature was to have finished the 2006 Legislative Session on Thursday, Timothy’s Law advocates were elated to hear of an agreement between the NYS Assembly and Senate on Friday evening as the Legislature worked to close down for the regular session. After more than 4 years of constant advocacy in which Timothy’s Law supporters from around the state worked to end discrimination in insurance coverage for mental health and addiction needs, a law to end that discrimination is finally in sight. “I find it very fitting and appropriate that on the eve of what would have been his graduation from high school, the NYS Legislature has reached an agreement to pass legislation to end discriminatory health insurance policies that led to the suicide of my son, Timothy, in 2001,” said Tom O’Clair, Timothy’s father and Co-Chair of the Timothy’s Law Campaign. As Mr. O’Clair has maintained for years, he is simply doing Timothy’s work. “What a graduation present this is for Timothy, and what a great day it is for New Yorkers with mental health needs,” O’Clair said. The agreement requires health insurance policies sold in NYS, not exempt under Federal law, to provide at least 30 inpatient days and 20 outpatient visits for mental health treatment. Perhaps more importantly, co-payments for accessing such services will be equalized with other co-payments for physical health needs included in a policy. This will bring to an end the exorbitant co-payments, often in excess of $50 per visit, commonly required to access mental health services. Affected insurance plans will have to cover conditions in a manner comparable to the insurance state employees and state legislators have access to under the Empire Plan. Small employers of 50 or fewer employees will be held harmless from any potential premium increases. People working for large employers will receive unlimited mental health benefits for the treatment of bipolar disorder, major depression, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anorexia, bulimia, schizophrenia / psychotic disorders, attention-deficit / hyperactivity disorders, disruptive behavioral disorders and pervasive developmental disorders. Small employers would have the option to purchase this same coverage. The legislation will expire 3 years from enactment and require the NYS Insurance Department to conduct a cost analysis. Paige Pierce, Co-Chair of the Timothy’s Law Campaign, noted, “This movement to enact Timothy’s Law has been an incredible grassroots effort with people from throughout the entire State of New York. Presently, parity laws exist in 35 other states and include 9 million Federal employees and retirees.” In noting this accomplishment, members of the Timothy’s Law Campaign pointed to the fact that they did not get all that they were hoping for in this agreement, specifically because the agreement failed to include coverage for those with addiction. O’Clair, Pierce, and other advocates will return in September when the Legislature is expected to fulfill its promise to pass Timothy’s Law. The Timothy’s Law Campaign would like to thank all Members of the NYS Assembly who have voted for and supported Timothy’s Law over the past 4 years, but specifically Assemblymembers Paul Tonko, Alexander (Pete) Grannis, Peter Rivera, Donna Lupardo, Joel Miller, and of course Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Minority Leader James Tedisco for their stalwart support. In addition, the Timothy’s Law Campaign thanks all Members of the NYS Senate who supported and pushed for passage of Timothy’s Law, especially Senators Thomas Libous, Thomas Duane, Thomas Morahan, and of course Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Minority Leader David Patterson. Lastly, the Timothy’s Law Campaign would like to thank the staff from both the Assembly and Senate who often go unrecognized, who have spent countless hours working to enact meaningful reform of NYS law to end discrimination in health insurance for New Yorkers with mental health needs.
BUDGET AGREEMENTS IMPACTING THOSE ON MEDICAID AND THOSE IMPACTED BY MEDICARE PART D – Amongst all of the other issues before them to consider before they left town, the Legislature and Governor were working to come to some agreements on budget related issues that were left as a stalemate earlier in the year. This stalemate occurred due to what the Governor claimed was illegal action on the part of the Legislature to change certain portions of the Governor’s Executive Budget Proposal and the Governor’s refusal to make the changes the Legislature claimed to have authorized through over-rides of the Governor’s vetoes. Essentially, the two houses and Governor were able to come to agreements on several issues mental health advocates were working on earlier this year. Amongst those agreements are: 1) to replace the “physician prevailing” language that the Governor proposed removing from the Preferred Drug Program, which ensures that the doctor gets the final say as to which drug a Medicaid recipient will get; 2) that cost will not be considered as a factor in determining which drugs are placed on the Preferred Drug List, which the Governor has proposed removing in his budget proposal; 3) a return to the 30 day notification regarding meetings of the Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee, which is responsible for determining which drugs should be placed on the Preferred Drug List – the Governor has recommended making that a 10 day notification period; 4) a replacement of the protections under the Clinical Drug Review Program that ensure the same level of accountability is provided for drugs restricted under this program as for drugs restricted under the Preferred Drug Program. Many thanks to the members of the Assembly, in particular Assembly Health Chair Richard Gottfried, for remaining strong on replacing these protections that the Governor had proposed to remove.
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) _ Tom O'Clair's long fight against the insurance industry may be nearing an end with an agreement late Friday by the Legislature to support what would be called Timothy's Law. O'Clair wants to require insurance companies in New York to provide mental health coverage. His inspiration has been his 12-year-old son, Timothy, who killed himself in 2001. Timothy's parents had to give up custody so he could get public-funded treatment for emotional problems. "We don't have the money the insurance industry has, that's what we face ... that's extremely frustrating," the Schenectady man said Friday night as he waited to see if sympathy and promises would turn into a deal between the Senate and Assembly. The deal was struck after the Assembly left at the end of the regular 2006 session, but the Assembly is expected to return to Albany to approve the Senate bill. The bill includes $50 million to help small businesses pay for the added coverage, addressing a concern that coverage would be too burdensome for business and force more workers to lose their insurance. The measure then will go to Gov. George Pataki. "I look at it this way, if someone had done this before, I wouldn't have to do this," O'Clair said. In other action: - The Senate voted to override Pataki's veto of a bill that would have allowed more than 50,000 home day care providers to unionize as state employees. The bill classifies day care providers who receive government subsidies as public employees for the purpose of collective bargaining on matters of wages, benefits and work conditions. Pataki said the measure would have jeopardized $315 million in federal block grant funding for child care programs. - The Legislature passed "Craig's Law," which levels serious prison time for anyone who leads police on a car chase in which an officer is hurt or killed. - The Senate approved a bill that would prohibit mentally ill inmates from being placed in solitary confinement "special housing units" in state prisons. Such inmates would be placed in residential mental health treatment programs that would be part of the prison or in other clinically appropriate programs.
ALBANY, N.Y. The state Legislature reached agreement tonight on "Timothy's Law," a bill that would require insurance coverage for mental illness. The bill is named after 12-year-old Timothy O-Clair, who killed himself in 2001 after his parents had to give up custody of him so he could get public-funded treatment for emotional problems. The bill has been held up for the past few years amid concerns in the Republican-led Senate over the potential costs to small businesses. Tonko says the state would spend around 60 (m) million dollars annually to help those businesses cover the added expense. The bill could be voted on by the Senate at some point later this year. No date has been set.
ALBANY---The New York State Senate has given final legislative passage to legislation that would prohibit mentally ill inmates from being placed in solitary confinement "special housing units" and would establish residential treatment program for these inmates. Currently, approximately 12 percent of the prison population, (approximately 8,000 inmates) is affected by serious mental illness. In addition, studies have shown that when this population is disciplined using solitary confinement, inmates engage in acts of self-mutilation and commit suicide at a rate three times higher than inmates in the general prison population. Under the provisions of the bill, inmates who meet the criteria for serious mental illness, will be removed and placed in a residential mental health treatment program or any other clinically appropriate program. In addition, the superintendent is required to report to the Commissioner on the mental health treatment or confinement of such inmates. In addition to excluding inmates with serious mental illness from isolated confinement, the bill would require that residential mental health treatment programs be established by the Commissioner of Corrections. These programs would provide clinically appropriate treatment for inmates while maintaining the safety and security of the facility. In addition under the legislation, the Department would conduct 40 hours of initial training for all correctional staff working in the residential mental health treatment programs. Eight hours of annual training would also be given to all correctional staff department-wide. The bill will be sent to the Governor for his consideration.
The New York state Legislature has passed a bill requiring counties to create a waiting list for housing for the mentally ill, a move that would push officials to document the number of people with psychiatric conditions who need to live in an integrated, safe environment. "New York created a waiting list bill for individuals with developmental disabilities. This list ultimately played a major role in the creation of the nationally recognized New York Cares housing program for individuals with developmental disabilities," said state Sen. Thomas P. Morahan, R-New City, who introduced the bill. "I am pleased we were able to pass legislation to do the same thing for individuals with mental illness." The bill, passed Thursday, requires the governor's approval. Currently there is no data on the subject, Morahan said, but relatives frequently complain there isn't sufficient housing available for their loved ones. "We don't know the number who need housing support. We need to determine the dimension and the size of the need and then to address that need in the budget," he said. In recent years, New York has created additional housing for people with mental illness, including 5,400 units for mentally ill people at risk of homelessness in New York City. However, there continues to be a need for additional housing all over the state. In Rockland, there is a range of housing opportunities available for men and women with psychiatric illness. Some live in licensed, supportive housing, such as apartments and community residences. Many live with their families. But the housing is inadequate, said Mary Ann Walsh-Tozer, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health in Rockland. "The reality is that many of those housing opportunities are not vacant," Walsh-Tozer said. "When there is a good match, people tend to stay. We've been talking for a very long time that there isn't an adequate amount of housing that is supportive of individuals' recovery that provides a safe, clean and secure environment." In Westchester, where housing for the mentally ill is also scarce, the department of Community Mental Health keeps an informal record of mentally ill residents who are looking for homes, said its commissioner, Jennifer Schaffer. But the department doesn't share the list with any state organization. The bill would encourage Westchester and other counties that may have similar lists to forward them to concerned authorities in Albany, she said. "We welcome this very much," Schaffer said. "There has not been much growth in housing opportunities in the last several years outside of New York City." Once funded, the wait list would help create housing that would be available for those with mental illness being discharged from jails and prisons, individuals living in adult homes who would like to move to more independent settings, individuals with mental illness living with elderly family members who can no longer take care of them, individuals who are homeless and have a mental illness and individuals discharged from psychiatric facilities and nursing homes. |
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