LANSING – State Representative Gabe Leland (D-Detroit) was joined by a bipartisan group of legislators to announce the introduction of bills to improve Michigan's public mental health system. The bills are the first step in turning the Governor's Mental Health Commission 2004 findings into law.
"These bills will help restore Michigan's status as the nation's leader in mental health," Leland said. "The Mental Health Commission brought together diverse groups to reform our mental health system so patients get the care they need. When these bills are passed, we will be able to build and strengthen the mental health system."
Leland's bill would create within the Michigan Department of Community Health a Medical Director of Mental Health Services. The medical director would advise on mental health policy and treatment issues; serve as a resource on mental health clinical matters to all divisions within the department, other state departments, and the mental health field, and promote the use of mental health care and treatment best practices that have been experimentally or experientially proven.
The other bills will:
- Require insurance coverage parity for mental health services;
- Allow the state to work toward improving the array of publicly-funded services to address the needs of consumers at the earliest time possible;
- Address the structure of our public mental health system; and
- Identify cost-saving and efficiency measures.
"We applaud the introduction of these bills, and see them as the first pieces of a comprehensive package for addressing important recommendations of the Governor's Mental Health Commission, said Dr. Mark Reinstein, President and CEO of the Mental Health Association in Michigan. "Most of the Commission's recommendations can best be implemented through legislative action, and we're very pleased to see the Legislature examining ways to improve mental health services in Michigan,"
A second set of bills implementing the remainder of the commission's recommendations will be introduced in coming months.