Article archive / April 1, 2016
Originally published: . Volume 7, No. 4. Source pages: 10.
Louisiana U.S. Senator, Bill Cassidy, has helped author S. 2680, called the Mental Health Reform Act of 2016. Co-authors are Sens. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee and Patty Murray of Washington, and Chris Murphy of Connecticut.
Some of the elements of the bill include helping the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSA) by supporting a coordinating committee and best-practices efforts.
Grant programs are included for individuals with serious mental illness, as well as supporting efforts to promote integration of primary and behavioral health care. There is a reauthorization of a suicide prevention grant program and support of the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline program.
The bill includes a number of efforts without clear methods for funding the programs, according to Peter Earley, author and advocate for mental health reform. Early noted that the bill could be improved by embracing some of what is proposed in “Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,” and also the “Comprehensive Behavioral Health Reform and Recovery Act of 2016.”
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