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Legislative & Political Action SENATE COMMITTEE HOLDS HEARING ON MENTAL HEALTH ACCESS & EQUITY On January 24, the Senate Committee on Health & Human Services held a hearing on Senate Bill 246, the Mental Health Access & Equity bill. Senate Bill 246 was introduced to the Senate Committee by our Senate and Assembly Lead Sponsors, State Senate Mark Miller (D-Monona) and State Representative Garey Bies (R-Sister Bay). Please thank these legislators for their support. Fourteen individuals connected with the Mental Health Access & Equity Coalition testified in favor of the bill including, Ruth Ann Berkholtz, Marc Herstand, Mary Nervig, Jennifer Burelbach, Darald Hanusa, Carol Faynik, Thomas O’Connor, John Macek, Donna Ulteig, Elizabeth Hudson, Leann Spahn, Lenore DeLoughery, Carolyn Moynihan and Cara Hoffert. Ruth Ann and Marc began the testimony for the Coalition by discussing the background to the bill, the purposes of the bill, the fiscal note for the bill, the issues of patients’ rights including a grievance procedure and amendments to the bill. For a copy of this testimony click here. Other speakers from the Coalition discuss the problem of “brain drain” of licensees to other states because of our antiquated law; the extremely low level of grievances for LCSW’s nationally, the need to pay for Medicaid outside of a clinic, the cost to clinics of the current law and how much easier it is to provide mental health services in neighboring states. Although no speaker testified in opposition to the bill, several speakers raised concerns about portions of the bill. Katie Plona and Dan Zimmerman from the Department of Health & Family Services expressed concerns that licensees working outside of an outpatient mental health clinic would not be subject to DHFS’s grievance procedure. They also expressed concern about the section of the bill that prohibits DHFS from requiring supervision for licensed mental health professionals. Jeff Scanlan from the Department of Regulation & Licensing expressed concern that the amendments to this bill would require more oversight on behalf of DRL, which they would not be able to accomplish. (NOTE: Wisconsin Legislative Council has assured NASW WI that the amendments would not require more work from DRL). Don Norman, representing the Wisconsin Coalition of Behavioral Health Providers stated that SB 246 should be amended so it does not interfere with the new administrative rules. He expressed concern that the bill could hurt the clinics. David Dropkin, representing himself as a clinic owner and provider for Medicaid, expressed support for the Vendorship portion of the bill and opposition to the Medicaid portion of the bill. He stated that Medicaid patients are very vulnerable and need the protection of DHFS’s oversight. He also said that the State of Wisconsin should not tell DHFS how to run the Medicaid program. Mr. Dropkin is President of the Wisconsin Association of Behavioral Health Services, which he indicated had not yet taken a position on the bill. Following the hearing, NASW WI met with Laura Rose with the Wisconsin Legislative Council and asked her to draft our amendments to the bill, which relate to protection of confidentiality of treatment records, a grievance procedure and some technical amendments. The language for the protection of confidentiality of treatment records and for the grievance procedure was developed by Dianne Greenley of Disability Rights Wisconsin. Throughout the process of developing and working on this bill, NASW WI has worked closely with consumer groups like Grass Roots Empowerment and Disability Rights Wisconsin. For a copy of amendments to AB 463/SB 246 click here. At the time this article was written, NASW WI and the Mental Health Access & Equity Coalition were waiting for an Executive Session (vote) in both the Assembly and Senate committees. The Assembly Committee vote was most problematic. The Assembly Committee Chair, Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa) had apparently not scheduled a vote for the bill because of the fiscal note. NASW WI had offered to Representative Vukmir to delay the implementation of the Medicaid portion of the bill until July 2009 (the next fiscal year. She had never responded to this offer. After the bill was introduced DHFS wrote a fiscal note stating that they estimated the bill would cost the State of Wisconsin $648,200 due to increased utilization of services by Medicaid clients. NASW WI and the Coalition disputed this fiscal note stating that the State of Wisconsin would save money since the payment for Physician referral would no longer be required and the cost of the clinic surveyors would be eliminated or greatly reduced once clinics opt out of the DHFS oversight. For an update, please feel free to call Marc Herstand at the NASW WI office toll-free at 866-462-7994 or (608) 257-6334. Mental Health Access & Equity BillInformation & Fact Sheet Senate Bill 246 Senate Bill 246 Amendments Senate Bill 246 Legislative Amendments Memo Legislative Action History of Senate Bill 246/Assembly Bill 463 Mental Health/Substance Abuse Parity Information & Fact Sheet Coalition for Fairness Organizational List History of Efforts to Enact Mental Health & Substance Abuse Parity in WI Our Position on Bills Introduced to The Wisconsin Legislature Our Legislative & Social Policy Committee has taken positions on bills introduced during the 2007/2008 legislative session. For a complete list please click here. WI Passes Landmark Guardianship, Protective Services & Adult at Risk Reform. For more information, please click here. Lobby Day Lobby Day is one of the most empowering & exciting programs we offer, and occurs every 2 years in the spring. The experience includes: training in lobbying techniques, demystifying the lobbying experience, training on priority issues and provides a fun gathering and networking event. Please look for our next Lobby Day in 2009. 2007 Position Papers: Campaign Finance Reform Insurance Reimbursement Mental Health Substance Abuse School Funding Universal Health Care Reform W-2 Trial Jobs Press Releases Support of Governor Doyle's Veto of Concealed Weapons Bill Oppose Bush Faith-Based Executive Order Testimony
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