Rep Tim Murphy Makes Major Mental Health Announcement at AEI
Expert panel to discuss Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act
(WASHINGTON, DC) – Representative Tim Murphy will make a major announcement about the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act (H.R. 3717) this Friday, March 28, 2014 at 10:00AM, during a special event at the American Enterprise Institute. Rep. Murphy has been invited by AEI to be the featured speaker for a panel discussion entitled, “Fixing the mental health care system: What Congress can do.” The forum, which will include former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, will be held in the AEI offices in Washington, D.C.
The federal government’s approach to mental health has been a chaotic patchwork of antiquated programs and ineffective policies across numerous agencies. Patients often fall through the cracks and land on the street or in the criminal justice system. The panel will discuss how Rep. Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act will address persistent problems like psychiatric bed shortages, the scarcity of evidence-based treatment, and the questionable priorities of America’s leading mental healthcare agencies.
WHO:Rep. Tim Murphy (PA-18)
Former Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy (RI), Sally Satel, MD, AEI Resident Scholar, Jeffrey Lieberman, MD, President of the American Psychiatric Association, E. Fuller Torrey, MD, Stanley Medical Research Institute
WHEN: Friday, March 28, 2014, 10:00 AM — 11:30 AM
LOCATION: AEI, Twelfth Floor, 1150 Seventeenth Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036
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MurphyPress | Congressman Tim Murphy (PA-18)
This afternoon, the House of Representatives adopted two
major components of HR 3717, the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act,
a bill authored by Representative Tim Murphy, Chairman of the House Energy and
Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight & Investigations.
The House-passed Protecting Access to Medicare Act
incentivizes counties to establish Assistant Outpatient Treatment (AOT)
programs, a successful alternative to long-term inpatient care for those with
mental illness cycling through the system but never receiving needed care. AOT
has been proven to save money for state and local governments by reducing the rates
of imprisonment, homelessness, substance abuse, and costly emergency room
visits for individuals with a persistent and serious mental illness.
“The
Assisted Outpatient Treatment model, which is a cornerstone of my Helping
Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, has proven track record of success in
helping those who need treatment lead productive lives in the community. Under
Kendra's Law in New York, AOT has reduced homelessness, ended the cycle of
repeat hospitalizations and incarceration of those with mental illness by more
than 70 percent. The legislation passed today is a tremendous step forward in
expanding mental health services, and gives our effort to bring mental illness
out of the shadows a major momentum boost as the Helping Families in Mental Health
Crisis Act moves through the Energy and Commerce Committee,” said Rep. Murphy.
The
Protecting Access to Medicare Act also includes another section of Murphy’s
H.R. 3717 to expand access to community mental health services and strengthen
the quality of care provided for those living with mental illness. This section
was introduced in the Senate as a stand-alone bill by Senators Debbie Stabenow
(D-MI) and Roy Blunt (R-MO).
Hours after these mental health provisions passed
the House, Chairman of the Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Health Joe Pitts
(R-PA) announced he will be convening a legislative hearing on Thursday, April
3rd at 10:30AM to review Murphy’s Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act.
Witnesses and additional information on the hearing can be found here.
“Our
yearlong Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee investigation revealed that
individuals diagnosed with a severe and persistent mental illness are more
likely to end up in jail or on the streets because they aren't getting the
treatment they need from our broken mental health system,” said Murphy. “The
Helping Families In Mental Health Crisis Act will turn the sorrow of loss and
tragedy into the joy of recovery for millions of families across the country by
advancing evidence-based medicine, fixing misunderstood HIPAA rules, and
expanding access to evidence-based treatment.”
This blog was founded 4 years ago, to spotlight
the 'system failures' individuals living with serious psychiatric brain diseases experience in the commonwealth and to give their families a voice. 
