releases: http://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/new-psychiatric-care-bill-passes-senate
Data license: MIT · Data source: dwillis/congress-press
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| http://susanwbrooks.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/new-psychiatric-care-bill-passes-senate | New Psychiatric Care Bill Passes Senate | 2015-11-30 | 2015 | 2015-11 | Republican | House | IN | Susan Brooks | B001284 | susanwbrooks.house.gov | legacy | A bill to extend a demonstration program designed to allow people with chronic mental illnesses to seek the help they need without becoming stuck in the revolving door of emergency room visits, relapses, jail and homelessness is now on track to be signed into law. The Improving Access to Emergency Psychiatric Care Act of 2015 will allow Medicaid to provide matching funds to states to reimburse the treatment of severely mentally ill people between the ages 21 and 64 at psychiatric hospitals with more than 16 beds, according to a news release from Sen. Ben Cardin's office, which also saidthe program has shown very promising preliminary results. The bill was introduced by Cardin (D-Md.) and Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.). The original cosponsor of the legislation was Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and the lead sponsors in the House were Reps. John Sarbanes (D-Md.) and Susan Brooks (R-Ind.). A psychiatric bed shortage is causing many severely mentally ill individuals to go without medical treatment, and instead, winding up in prison or on the streets. Our bipartisan, budget-neutral legislation continues an important demonstration project that helps the mentally ill access quality, life-saving care from freestanding psychiatric hospitals, Toomey said in in the release. In 2010, Congress authorized the demonstration project to alleviate the shortage of psychiatric beds in 11 states and the District of Colombia by allowing federal Medicaid matching payments to freestanding psychiatric hospitals for emergency psychiatric cases. The demonstration had been set to end on Dec. 15, 2015, according to the news release. The bill extends the program through Sept. 30, 2016, when the Secretary of Health and Human Services will be required to submit a report to Congress with recommendations based on the final evaluation. The secretary could also extend the program for another three years and expand it to include other states. At the completion of those three additional years, the project would come to a close unless Congress acts to extend it. The demonstration would be required to remain budget neutral, according to the news release. | 1 | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z | 2026-03-30T12:14:52Z |