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The NYSPA Report – The Safe Act: A New Reporting Requirement for Mental Health Professionals
The Secure Ammunition and Firearms Security (SAFE) Act, signed into law by Governor Cuomo on January 15, 2013, is a gun control statute that substantially strengthens rules governing access to firearms and ammunition. The law also imposes a new mandatory reporting requirement on health care...
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The Importance of Public Policy Advocacy for People in Recovery
There is a quote I often think of when considering the importance of being at the table where decisions are made. Senator Tom Harkin from Iowa once said, “If you are not at the table, you are on the menu.” I believe this is especially true for decisions made in regard to policies affecting...
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Recovery-Oriented Practice and Health Care Reform
One common criticism of the concept of recovery is that, while it has offered a hopeful—even inspiring—vision for persons with mental illnesses and their loved ones, it has not provided concrete guidance for how mental health care needs to change in order to be more effective in promoting it....
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Supreme Court Decision Benefits People with Mental Illness
It is good news for people with mental illness and their families that the Supreme Court has ruled that the Affordable Care Act (ACA) is constitutional. The benefits would have been greater if the court had not made expansion of Medicaid eligibility optional for the states. But even if some states...
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Riding the Wave of Health Care Reform
Addictions and risky use of addictive substances constitute one of the largest and most costly public health issues facing the nation, but addiction care has been vastly under-resourced and remains largely separate from mainstream medical and behavioral health care practice. Unrecognized and...
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The NYSPA Report: The Need for an “Essential Health Benefits” Federal Floor
Since the passage of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010, health policy experts and health lawyers have been working around the clock to comprehend and respond to an unprecedented number of proposed and final regulations. Noticeably absent from a myriad of federal rules that have been...
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How Health Care Reform Affects Providers and Consumers
Health Care reform has been vigorously debated. Many have attributed the deficiencies in the health care system to various causes including Lack of Access (48 million citizens without insurance), overuse of unnecessary, high cost tests and procedures, underuse of prevention, early intervention...
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The NYSPA Report – Medicaid, Behavioral Healthcare, and the 2011 NYS Budget: Taking Stock
There can be no question that 2011 has been a tough budget year all around, including in New York State. The end of the legislative session provides an opportune time to take stock and see where we are. When our new governor, Andrew Cuomo, took office in January, New York State was facing a $10.5...
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Mental Health in Health Care Reform: High Hopes but Big Battles Ahead
Federal health care reform promises health coverage for most of the 50 million American citizens and documented immigrants who are currently uncovered. This will include coverage of mental health and substance abuse treatment. It also promises improved quality of physical and behavioral health...
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An Overview of Timothy’s Law: Past, Present, and Future
Like many structural shifts in public policy, it often takes a horrific tragedy to move us to do the right thing. Case in point-Timothy’s Law. Named after Timothy O’Clair, a 12-year old boy who committed suicide shortly before his thirteenth birthday, the law requires that insurance companies...
