State Representative Jim Struzzi, along with the rest of the House Human Services Committee, have unanimously passed two pieces of legislation that are designed to improve access to mental health care in the state.
The first, House Bill 2686 will create a grant program to assist small medical practices in converting to an integrated care model that can deliver timely psychiatric care in the primary care setting. Struzzi said this would be done through the Collaborative Care Model, where a primary care provider leads a team that includes a consulting psychiatrist and behavioral health care manager. The second bill, House Bill 2806, will create a public awareness campaign for mental health services for first responders, health care employees and other “front line” workers.
Struzzi said he was happy to see the bills that he co-sponsored move to the house floor without a single vote against them. He said that it demonstrates how both sides of the aisle can agree on the importance of mental health.
Struzzi has another bill that is currently in the works. This bill would develop a statewide process to place patients enrolled in Medicaid with behavioral health or other long-term care needs in appropriate places so their issues can be addressed. This bill is currently sitting in a Senate Committee.
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