US House Approves Mental Health Bill Co-Sponsored by Herrera Beutler

July 11--The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, a legislative solution co-sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash.

The bill aims to improve the nation's mental health care system and remove federal barriers to care. It passed by a bipartisan 422-2 margin, stated a press release from Herrera Beutler's office.

The bill aims to address some of the mental health gaps in the nation. Nearly 10 million Americans who have serious mental illness, including bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, go undiagnosed or without treatment, according to the release.

"Everyone has been touched by challenges with mental illness in some way, whether personally or via a family member or friend, and those experiences have made us all painfully aware of the shortcomings in our mental health system," Herrera Beutler said in the release. "Right now, too many people with mental illness are on the streets or in jails instead of getting the care they need that would keep both them and our communities more safe."

Currently there is a shortage of nearly 100,000 psychiatric beds nationwide. According to the press release, three of the largest mental health "hospitals" -- L.A. County, Cook County and Rikers Island Jail -- are actually jails. Other statistics provided in the release stated only one child psychiatrist is available for every 2,000 children with a mental health disorder.

The bill makes reforms to the entire mental health system including helping patients on Medicaid who are experiencing a mental health crisis access to same-day care; reauthorizing the national suicide prevention lifeline program; and authorizing crisis intervention training grants for police officers and first responders.

The bill also extends liability protections for mental health professionals who volunteer at community health centers, and authorizes grants for workforce development which includes behavioral health paraprofessional training and education programs, and grants to increase the psychologist workforce.

"I'm proud to be a long-time champion of this solution that makes the most significant reforms to our mental health system in decades to help meet the needs of individuals in Southwest Washington and across the country," Herrera Beutler said in the release.

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