The NYSPA Report: Spotlight on OnTrackNY – New York’s First-Episode Psychosis Early Intervention Program

OnTrackNY is a coordinated specialty care program for adolescents and young adults who have started experiencing psychotic symptoms. Started in 2013, the program is a joint collaboration of the New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH), the New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYSPI), the...

The NYSPA Report: New York’s Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Parity Reporting Bill

If signed into law by Governor Cuomo, New York’s parity reporting bill (A.3694-C/S.1156-C) will be among the most comprehensive laws of its kind in the country. The bill was passed by both the New York State Senate and New York State Assembly in the final week of the 2017/2018 Legislative...

The NYSPA Report: Recovery and the Federal Fair Housing Act

This issue of Behavioral Health News focuses on “the vital role of housing in the recovery process.” We know that stable housing is important to individuals seeking treatment and that recovery is possible when a person’s basic need for safety and housing are met. Having somewhere safe and...

The NYSPA Report: Repeal and Replace Should Not Harm Our Most Vulnerable

I am honored to serve as editor of the NYSPA Report and I want to begin by thanking my friend and colleague, Dr. Barry Pearlman. Barry has served as editor of this column since its inception and has provided useful and interesting information since day one.I’m proud to have the opportunity to...

The NYSPA Report: Taking Stock and Taking Leave

Advocacy must be unending, ongoing work because there is always more to accomplish and always the danger that hard-won gains may be undone. For the past 14 years I have either written or edited the work of guest columnists for the quarterly NYSPA Report in Behavioral Health News (BHN) or in Mental...

The NYSPA Report: Conversion Therapy

Primum non nocere, “first do no harm,” is a maxim well known to physicians and might be one that should be taken to heart by state decision makers. It is with this dictum in mind that NYSPA urges the NYS Senate to finally pass during its 2016 session the bill defining the practice of “Sexual...

The NYSPA Parity Enforcement Project: New Tools for Patients and Providers in The Fight Against Parity

The passage of the federal Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act of 2008 (MHPAEA) represented a landmark moment for those fighting for parity in behavioral health benefits. In the years since MHPAEA and its implementing regulations went into effect, many of the financial restrictions and...

The NYSPA Report: Community Based Extended Inpatient Care

A cohort of persons with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) will continue to require extended inpatient psychiatric treatment beyond 2015, the year during which NYS will enroll virtually all of its Medicaid insured into managed care. Where their care will be provided remains to be...

The NYSPA Report: New Medicaid Restrictions on the Prescription of Benzodiazepines

Late last year, the New York State Medicaid Drug Utilization Review Board (DURB) recommended new protocols in connection with the prescribing of benzodiazepines under the Medicaid program. Benzodiazepines, a controlled substance, are a class of psychotropic medication used to reduce symptoms of...

The NYSPA Report: DSM 5 – A New Diagnostic Perspective

With much fanfare and no small amount of controversy the American Psychiatric Association (APA) released the 5th version of the Diagnostic and Statistics manual, DSM-5 in May of this year. Since its release it has been a consistent best seller and is still ranked #19 of all books on Amazon in...