Staments on Introduced Bills and Joint Resolutions

Floor Speech

STATEMENTS ON INTRODUCED BILLS AND JOINT RESOLUTIONS -- (Senate - October 17, 2007)

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Mr. REED. Mr. President, today I introduce the Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act. For decades, we have known that people suffering from mental illness die sooner, on average 25 years sooner, and have higher rates of disability than the general population. People with mental illness are at greater risk of preventable health conditions such as heart disease and diabetes. With this legislation, we are taking steps to address these disturbing trends.

We know that mental health and physical health are inter-related: each contributes to the other. Yet historically mental health and physical health have been treated separately. The vision of this legislation is that the two should be integrated in a single medical home.

In a recent survey, 91 percent of community mental health centers said that improving the quality of health care is a priority. However, only one-third have the capacity to provide health care on site, and only one-fifth provide medical referrals off site. The centers identified a lack of financial resources as the biggest barrier to integrating treatment.

Accordingly, this legislation provides grants to integrate treatment for mental health, substance abuse, and primary and specialty care. Grantees can use the funds for screenings, basic health care services on site, referrals, or information technology.

This legislation is also a comprehensive response to the workforce crisis identified by the President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health. It provides grants for a wide range of innovative recruitment and retention efforts, from loan forgiveness and repayment programs, to placement and support for new mental health professionals, to expanding mental health education and training programs.

Finally, this legislation provides grants for tele-mental health in medically-underserved areas, and invests in health IT for mental health providers. These proposals address the twin goals of improving the quality of mental health treatment while expanding access to that treatment in rural and underserved areas.

This bipartisan legislation, which I am introducing with my colleague Senator Smith, has the overwhelming support of the mental health community. It has been endorsed by the National Council for Community Behavioral Healthcare, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, Mental Health America, the Campaign for Mental Health Reform, and the American Psychological Association. I am especially grateful for the support of the Rhode Island Council of Community Mental Health Organizations, whose members treat close to 15,000 Rhode Islanders of all ages.

Today Senator Smith and I are also introducing the Community Mental Health Infrastructure Improvements Act. It should be obvious that this legislation is a necessary complement to the Community Mental Health Services Improvement Act: without community mental health centers, there can be no services to improve. Accordingly, this legislation provides grants to states for the construction and modernization of facilities that provide mental health services.

As a member of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, I will work to include these important initiatives in legislation that renews and improves Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, SAMHSA, programs. It is my hope that with its passage, we can begin to address the challenge of improving and expanding access to mental health services in a comprehensive way.

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