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NAMI survey shows improvement in mental health care reform at a state level
Results from the third annual survey of state mental health care from the National Alliance on Mental Illness indicated improvement in state efforts to reform mental health care despite a slow response from Congress.
“The good news is that efforts to improve the lives of people affected by mental illness have continued in 2015,” said Mary Giliberti, JD, executive director of NAMI, said in a press release. “Some states have enacted specific reforms that can serve as models for others. And Congress has slowly begun to move forward now with mental health reform legislation. The bad news is that fewer states are strengthening investment in mental health care and Congress has only recently started to act after having been largely absent for 2 years. Increased focus by Congress will be needed to get final, comprehensive legislation.”
Mary Giliberti
The top five bills passed in 2015 that should serve as priority models for other states, according to NAMI, include:
- HB 2488 in Arizona;
- SF 1458 in Minnesota;
- HB 348 in Utah;
- HB 2118 in Virginia; and
- SB 5175 in Washington
The survey indicated 23 states were willing to increase mental health spending in 2015, compared with 36 states in 2013 and 29 in 2014.
Minnesota and Virginia were “stand out as leaders for reform” for the second year in a row, according to the release. New York also significantly invested to strengthen its public mental health system in 2015.
Funding decreased in Washington, D.C. in 2015, despite increases in 2013 and 2014.
Illinois and Pennsylvania have yet to pass their overall budgets.
From 2013 to 2015, 11 states (Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Idaho, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, South Carolina, South Dakota, Virginia and Washington) increased investment in mental health care each year, while three states cut mental health spending each year (Alaska, North Carolina and Wyoming).
The report assessed legislation topically. Gold stars under each topic designate specific measures considered notable by NAMI.
Legislation considered ill-formed or discriminatory is marked with a red flag.
In 2015, 35 states adopted at least one measure that received a gold star. Minnesota, New York and Virginia were the most notable, according to the release.
Fourteen states received red flags.
“Too much of the public dialogue about mental health over the past 3 years has been framed relative to violence,” Giliberti said in the release. “The Newtown tragedy and other events undeniably have helped to fuel public demand for mental health care reform. At the same time, studies clearly show that the vast majority of individuals living with mental illness are not violent.”
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