For probably the first time in New York’s history, mental health is front and center in the State of the State. The number one symbolic issue we have faced for many years is the stigma of mental health challenges. The fact that Governor Hochul choose to address these issues in the State of the State is a very positive step forward for our community.
We are very appreciative of Governor Hochul leading with an innovative discussion of mental health resources. Creating new services through increases of 42 ACT teams, 50 Time Critical Intervention teams, 5 SOS Teams, 26 CCBHC clinics and a dozen CPEPS is unprecedented and will help provide needed resources to an underfunded system of care.
In addition, 3500 residential beds in New York through a variety of SRO, Transitional Step Down beds, licensed apartments and supported housing units will help respond to the overwhelming need for more housing. The key is to make sure that these beds are out the door appropriately and rapidly. Capital construction can take several years to build but this is clearly a priority.
In addition, there is a proposal to increase hospital beds by 1000– 850 beds through community hospitals and 150 for State Psychiatric hospital beds. We strongly support the Governor in vesting OMH with ability to ensure that they will better able to support the policy of converting beds that went go to medical/surgical beds to transition to mental health beds. These beds will be monitored to insure that individuals are getting appropriate services.
We do have concerns about the 150 new inpatient psychiatric beds. There will be overall greater scrutiny around those beds which is obviously a good thing but the movement back to state psychiatric hospital beds is not a positive trend. People recover with community support and not state psychiatric beds.
While we applaud Governor Hochul’s innovative movement around mental health transformation (outside of opening 150 more psychiatric hospital beds), the biggest concern we have is who will we have to run and engineer this innovative programming. If you talk to any of our members, the refrain is always the same—-‘great programs, but we don’t have the staff to run these programs’.
What will greatly help is support for an 8.5% COLA. We await the budget in a few weeks to see if the bold plan will be able to meet expectations through appropriate funding for our mental health and human services workforce.
As leaders in the fight for mental health education in schools, we were very pleased that the Governor referenced the importance of school mental health. Increases around Medicaid for school based mental health clinics is a great step forward. We also have to increase the presence in school settings themselves through additional counselors, social workers and other clinical staff. And most importantly is the importance of working with schools to help create an atmosphere of mental wellness and connections to careers in mental health which is consistent with
We also applaud the Governor for her work in supporting behavioral health parity. No one should be denied coverage because they are paying a premium not equivalent to what they would pay for physical health care—it is sad in this day and age we still have to say it but that is the reality of some plans continuing to reject mental health benefit claims
Glenn Liebman
he/him/his
CEO, MHANYS
(518) 434-0439 | MHANYS.org
Follow us online: MHANYS.org
Facebook: @MHAacrossNYS
Twitter: @MHAacrossNYS
For Immediate Release: 1/10/2023 | GOVERNOR KATHY HOCHUL |
GOVERNOR HOCHUL ANNOUNCES COMPREHENSIVE PLAN TO FIX NEW YORK STATE’S CONTINUUM OF MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Transformative Plan will Increase Capacity for Inpatient Psychiatric Treatment by 1,000 Beds and Add 3,500 Housing Units Serving Individuals with Mental Illness
Governor Calls for Systemic Accountability for Mental Health Admissions and Discharges; Dramatic Expansion of Outpatient Services and Insurance Coverage
Governor Kathy Hochul today announced, as part of the 2023 State of the State, a comprehensive plan to overhaul New York’s continuum of mental health care and drastically reduce the number of individuals with unmet mental health needs throughout the state. The multi-year plan includes increasing operational capacity by 1,000 beds for inpatient psychiatric treatment, creating 3,500 units of housing to serve New Yorkers with mental illness, increasing insurance coverage for mental health services, dramatically expanding outpatient services, and creating systemic accountability for hospital admissions and discharges to better address the needs of individuals suffering with mental illness. These proposals, over time, will reflect more than $1 billion in investment in mental health.
“When it comes to protecting New Yorkers’ well-being, strengthening our mental health care system is essential and long overdue,” Governor Hochul said. “We have underinvested in mental health care for so long, and allowed the situation to become so dire, that it has become a public safety crisis, as well. This proposal marks a monumental shift to make sure no one falls through the cracks and to finally and fully meet the mental health needs of all New Yorkers.”
Governor Hochul will realign the state’s approach toward mental health with a comprehensive package of investments and policy changes aimed at transforming all parts of the mental health care continuum -from prevention to treatment to recovery. This includes:
Improving Admissions and Discharge Planning and Establish Systemic Accountability
Expanding Mental Health Services for School-aged Children
###
Additional news available at www.governor.ny.gov
New York State | Executive Chamber |press.office@exec.ny.gov | 518.474.8418
Are you in crisis, experiencing emotional distress, or worried about someone you know? Call or text 988 or chat at 988lifeline.org
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Mental Health Association in
New York State, Inc.
194 Washington Avenue, Suite 415
Albany, NY 12210
MHANYS is an affiliate of
Support Mental Health Awareness
Training Certifications
© Mental Health Association in New York State | All rights reserved | Privacy Policy »