Congressman Dan Goldman on the Greenberger Middle for Social and Legal Justice in New York Metropolis on Thursday, January 19, 2023.
Picture courtesy of Congressman Goldman’s workplace.
Slightly over a 12 months since Michelle Alyssa Gue was tragically pushed to her demise by a mentally in poor health man in a Instances Sq. subway station, Rep. Dan Goldman (NY 10) has stated he plans to introduce laws that will develop entry to psychiatric care.
Goldman introduced Thursday that he’ll introduce the invoice, referred to as the Michelle Alyssa Gu Legislation, on the Greenberger Middle for Social and Legal Justice in Manhattan. The invoice is at the moment being finalized.
The Michelle Alyssa Go Act goals to exclude Medicaid, higher often known as the Psychological Sickness Basis, which prohibits Medicaid from overlaying extended-stay stays for sufferers ages 21 to 64 who’re receiving psychological well being or substance abuse therapy in a facility with greater than 16 beds. The invoice would remove this exclusion and incentivize psychological well being care establishments to make room for folks with extreme psychological sickness.
He was joined by Congressman Jerry Nadler, Assemblywoman Grace Lee (D-65), representatives from the New York Metropolis Nationwide Alliance on Psychological Sickness and the Remedy Advocacy Middle, and Council members Eric Butcher, Carolina Rivera, and Keith Powers.
Former Congresswoman Caroline Maloney was additionally current at Thursday’s announcement. I launched the invoice within the final Congress. Goldman will current it at this session.
“What this invoice will do is permit psychological well being amenities to offset Medicaid if they’ve greater than 16 devoted psychological well being beds,” Goldman stated. “By doing this, we improve the providers which might be actually wanted.”
The invoice would take away the age restrict for Medicaid, in order that IMD sufferers between the ages of twenty-two and 64 can be eligible for Medicaid reimbursement. It could additionally permit any establishment to qualify as an IMD, whatever the variety of beds, so long as the establishment primarily treats folks with psychological diseases and meets nationwide requirements set by the Facilities for Medicare and Medicaid Providers.
The Nationwide Alliance on Psychological Sickness in New York Metropolis and the Remedy Advocacy Middle are calling for passage of the Michelle Alyssa Goo Act.
Kimberly Blair, director of coverage at NAMI-NYC, referred to as IMD’s exclusion “arbitrary” whereas Brian Stettin, director of coverage on the Middle for Remedy Advocacy, lately cited an “alarming scarcity” of inpatient psychiatric beds and community-based residential therapy amenities.
“The horrific homicide of Michel Guo would have been preventable,” stated Councilman Butcher, whose Instances Sq. neighborhood is residence to. So do the numerous People with untreated psychological sickness. It’s inconceivable that present federal legislation prohibits Medicaid from overlaying most impatient psychiatric providers.”
The exclusion has been in impact since Medicaid was based in 1965 and is a barrier for folks like Martial Simon, the person who killed Go, from having the ability to entry care. Simon was recognized with schizophrenia and has been out and in of town’s shelter system for twenty years, his household stated. Most homeless New Yorkers lack the cash to cowl these providers out of pocket, Goldman stated.
“The person had beforehand sought psychiatric therapy, however was turned away as a result of there was no household obtainable for him,” Goldman stated. “This laws is a crucial a part of addressing the psychological well being disaster we’re going by means of that has solely grown extra critical because the COVID pandemic.”
