-
Mental Health Parity in New York – How It Started, How It’s Going
Picnics and Pizza The fight for mental health parity - equal coverage and reimbursement by health insurers of mental illnesses and conditions - has been long and challenging. In the 1990s, the National Picnic for Parity became a grassroots movement in support of parity. The group hosted spirited...
-
Increased Access to Telehealth as a Means of Reducing Stigma
The Random House College Dictionary defines stigma as “a stain or reproach, as on one’s reputation.”1 Dictionary.com adds to this definition “a mark of disgrace or infamy.”2 In the context of mental health, stigma means a negative perception of mental illness, which has long served as a...
-
Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care: An Innovative Model of Care for Children and Adolescents
The Cohen Children’s Pediatric Behavioral Health Urgent Care Center (“BH Urgi”), located on Long Island, NY, is an alternative treatment setting for school-aged children and adolescents ages 5 through 17 in need of urgent mental health support. BH Urgi is intended to provide urgent or...
-
Federal and State Vaccine Mandates and The Behavioral Health Workforce
The COVID-19 public health emergency has contributed to workforce crises across almost all industries, fields and professions. The behavioral health field has not been immune. Even worse, behavioral health has historically been impacted by workforce challenges, stemming from “chronic underfunding...
-
The NYSPA Report: The Future of Telehealth in New York State
For many years, the New York State Psychiatric Association (NYSPA) has been advocating for mental health parity – equivalent coverage and reimbursement for the treatment of mental health and substance use disorders. In addition to Timothy’s Law, New York’s mental health mandate, and the...
-
Remote Access to Mental Health Care and Treatment During the COVID-19 Crisis
New York State has unfortunately become an epicenter of the COVID-19 public health emergency, with more confirmed positive cases than any other State in the nation. During the COVID-19 crisis, the use of telehealth and telemedicine has become an essential tool in ensuring continued access to mental...
-
An Introduction to Reimbursement and Coding for Psychiatric Collaborative Care Management Services
Integrated care has been recognized as a valuable tool for enhancing the overall health of individuals with serious and persistent mental illness (SPMI) by improving access to care and treatment for co-morbid medical conditions often experienced by individuals with SPMI. Similar benefits are also...
-
Mental Health Parity and Its Impact on the Behavioral Health Workforce
In 2006, New York enacted a parity mandate in the form of Timothy’s Law, which requires group health plans to provide 30 inpatient days and 20 outpatient days for most mental health diagnoses and requires large plans to provide full coverage for certain biologically based illnesses. Several years...
-
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...
