In early 2013, Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.), a psychologist, introduced legislation, H.R. 3717: The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.
H.R. 3717 currently has 115 House co-sponsors, of which 77 co-sponsors are Republican and 38 co-sponsors are Democrats. Importantly, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D., Tex.), a liberal Democrat, member of the Black Caucus and former psychiatric nurse, has co-sponsored the legislation. The latest action on this bill was on April 3, 2014, when Rep. Murphy chaired a subcommittee hearing.
After the first anniversary of the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, it has become incumbent upon lawmakers in the next Congress -- the 114th Congress -- to pass H.R. 3717, which Rep. Murphy is expected to reintroduce with a different bill number but same bill name: The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.
If there is any bill that deserves bipartisan support, it's H.R. 3717. Mental illness affects one in four Americans. In some way, large or small, we're all impacted by mental illness.
Importantly, this bill tackles the inconvenient nature of serious mental illness: denial and "treatment-resistant behavior." The legislation reforms privacy laws to allow caretakers access to critical HIPAA information in a crisis situation. This is a necessary and innovative measure because "treatment-resistant behavior" is a problem with serious mental health issues. I know, because I was once "treatment-resistant."
When I first had my "mental breakdown," I did not want to give up my freedoms or my individual right to have hallucinations, delusions and psychosis, something dangerously supported by a newly-emerging "mad pride" movement.
I didn't think I was ill. I believed being healthy meant being unburdened, and taking medicine contradicted everything I believed.
I didn't want to recognize that I was ill. If my mother had been able to exercise more control over my treatment, I wouldn't have been able to get as ill as I allowed myself to get.
Another important measure in this bill is that it supports veteran court programs. In Oklahoma, we have had many successes with the veteran court programs. In my community, we had an Iraq war veteran who took his own life before we had the veteran court programs in place. He was a causality of a system that didn't recognize the different set of problems that veterans experience, compared to the general population.
Expanding these veteran court programs is not only a great preventative measure, but it will be certain to assist in decreasing the number of suicides -- 22 a day -- that is becoming a painful statistic for our nation. There are many times when I could have had contact with the law, because of things I was doing as a result of my mental illness untreated. This program could help any veteran that comes in contact with the law. I know many of the veteran court program cases deal with addiction treatment. It will help veterans seek mental illness treatment as well.
Additionally, the bill helps many people who are in our prisons with serious mental illness. It expands treatment for those in prison. It seeks "to enhance the capabilities of a correctional facility to identify, screen, and treat inmates with a mental illness, as well as develop and implement post-release transition plans for them."
Those in U.S. prisons don't get adequate mental health care. The fact that severe mental illness often leads to prison requires that we adequately treat prisoners. Additionally, they must be treated with dignity and respect.
While H.R. 3717 doesn't fix everything that is wrong with our broken mental health care system, it tackles some important issues. It's time to get this bill on President Obama's desk. We need House of Representative members to pass H.R. 3717. We need senators to pass the legislation on the Senate side. And we need President Obama to sign the bill, to help families everywhere. Please contact your legislators in moving this bill forward.
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H.R. 3717 currently has 115 House co-sponsors, of which 77 co-sponsors are Republican and 38 co-sponsors are Democrats. Importantly, Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D., Tex.), a liberal Democrat, member of the Black Caucus and former psychiatric nurse, has co-sponsored the legislation. The latest action on this bill was on April 3, 2014, when Rep. Murphy chaired a subcommittee hearing.
After the first anniversary of the Newtown, Connecticut tragedy, it has become incumbent upon lawmakers in the next Congress -- the 114th Congress -- to pass H.R. 3717, which Rep. Murphy is expected to reintroduce with a different bill number but same bill name: The Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.
If there is any bill that deserves bipartisan support, it's H.R. 3717. Mental illness affects one in four Americans. In some way, large or small, we're all impacted by mental illness.
Importantly, this bill tackles the inconvenient nature of serious mental illness: denial and "treatment-resistant behavior." The legislation reforms privacy laws to allow caretakers access to critical HIPAA information in a crisis situation. This is a necessary and innovative measure because "treatment-resistant behavior" is a problem with serious mental health issues. I know, because I was once "treatment-resistant."
When I first had my "mental breakdown," I did not want to give up my freedoms or my individual right to have hallucinations, delusions and psychosis, something dangerously supported by a newly-emerging "mad pride" movement.
I didn't think I was ill. I believed being healthy meant being unburdened, and taking medicine contradicted everything I believed.
I didn't want to recognize that I was ill. If my mother had been able to exercise more control over my treatment, I wouldn't have been able to get as ill as I allowed myself to get.
Another important measure in this bill is that it supports veteran court programs. In Oklahoma, we have had many successes with the veteran court programs. In my community, we had an Iraq war veteran who took his own life before we had the veteran court programs in place. He was a causality of a system that didn't recognize the different set of problems that veterans experience, compared to the general population.
Expanding these veteran court programs is not only a great preventative measure, but it will be certain to assist in decreasing the number of suicides -- 22 a day -- that is becoming a painful statistic for our nation. There are many times when I could have had contact with the law, because of things I was doing as a result of my mental illness untreated. This program could help any veteran that comes in contact with the law. I know many of the veteran court program cases deal with addiction treatment. It will help veterans seek mental illness treatment as well.
Additionally, the bill helps many people who are in our prisons with serious mental illness. It expands treatment for those in prison. It seeks "to enhance the capabilities of a correctional facility to identify, screen, and treat inmates with a mental illness, as well as develop and implement post-release transition plans for them."
Those in U.S. prisons don't get adequate mental health care. The fact that severe mental illness often leads to prison requires that we adequately treat prisoners. Additionally, they must be treated with dignity and respect.
While H.R. 3717 doesn't fix everything that is wrong with our broken mental health care system, it tackles some important issues. It's time to get this bill on President Obama's desk. We need House of Representative members to pass H.R. 3717. We need senators to pass the legislation on the Senate side. And we need President Obama to sign the bill, to help families everywhere. Please contact your legislators in moving this bill forward.
from Healthy Living - The Huffington Post http://ift.tt/1wdBQ2s
via IFTTT
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