House Enrolled Acts:
House Enrolled Act 1001:
The Budget Bill, HB 1001 as introduced, originally made over $26M in cuts for the biennium to mental health and addiction services. Those cuts would have severely and negatively impacted the behavioral health service delivery system in Indiana. Thanks to the strong advocacy effort by MHAI and other mental health and addiction advocates, key legislators, and state leadership, the Indiana General Assembly restored ALL of the introduced cuts--including full restoration for Recovery Works! In addition, HEA 1001 appropriates an additional $100M over the biennium to fund mental health initiatives! Mental Health America of Indiana would like to sincerely thank all the legislators who worked so hard on the mental health portion of the budget.
Mental Health America of Indiana sincerely appreciates the hard work of our advocacy network, which generated thousands of emails to help make this increase possible. We will continue to work with the Indiana General Assembly to bring critical services to Hoosiers living with mental health conditions and addictive disorders. Mental Health America of Indiana stands ready to work with the Administration to implement the comprehensive and integrated behavioral health services that will be now possible under this budget.
This Session saw passage of other significant MHAI legislative priorities as well! In addition to the mental health line items referenced above, the Budget Bill (HEA 1001) also fully funds the work the Drug Czar at $10M for the biennium, appropriates $100M in federal Rescue funds to FSSA for mental health and another $50M to DOH for the Health Grants of HEA 1007, and creates a fund for the Opioid Settlement for the prevention, education, and treatment of OUD and co-occurring SUD and mental health.
See budget bill (HEA 1001) HERE.
See Indiana Health Plan (HEA 1007) HERE.
House Enrolled Act 1468:
HEA 1468, 988 Crisis Response, will create the foundation for Indiana’s crisis intervention and stabilization infrastructure through 988 as well as other critical mental health and addiction provisions, as it was amended to include HB 1467 which had died in the Senate. HB 1467 included critical CMHC language regarding reimbursement and administrative changes to promote efficiency. It also updated Addiction Counselor requirements. HEA 1468 was a MHAI priority and is in response to the federal legislation creating 988 and would create a structure for a behavioral health crisis response, using a community-based partnership between law enforcement, first responders, hospitals, mental health and substance use professionals, and other community-based entities. The point of entry includes the utilization of call centers, mobile crisis outreach services, sub-acute stabilization centers, peers, and treatment providers. This will reduce the need for acute care and hospital Emergency Department visits, substantially decreasing the burden of traditional responders and significantly cutting the costs of care that is often not appropriate for this service need.
House Enrolled Act 1225/ OTPs:
HEA 1225, OTPs extends the periodfor OTP take-homes without prior authorization. Currently, the Division of Mental Health and Addiction must approve extensions from 7 to 14 days, creating an administrative burden. HEA 1203, among other things, extends the Syringe exchange program.
House Enrolled Act 1127:
HEA 1127, Recovery Works permits use of Recovery Works reimbursement for Competency Restoration, Recovery Residences, and Recovery Community organizations. This will be additional tool to move individuals from incarceration to treatment when clinically appropriate.
Senate Enrolled Acts:
Senate Enrolled Act 82:
HEA 82, Mental Health Diagnosis, permits masters level licensed professionals (LCSW, LCAC, LMHC, LMFT) to diagnose mental health disorders. This is a long time in coming and will enhance workforce expertise and productivity. As a result of this bill, over 10,000 clinicians will now be able to diagnose mental health conditions. With 74 or the 92 counties considered mental health professional shortage areas and 70% of the counties in Indiana currently having insufficient or no access to psychiatrists, this bill will increase the number of clinicians who can diagnose and provide treatment in a timely way.
Senate Enrolled Act 3:
SEA 3, Telehealth, continues many of the telehealth provisions made possible through the Governor’s Executive Order during the Pandemic including use of video and audio communication. This is a critical bill for behavioral health treatment, one of the highest utilizers of the telehealth option.
Senate Enrolled Act 1/ House Enrolled Act 1002:
SEA 1 and HEA 1002, COVID Liability provides protection for COVID related liability to businesses and health care providers, respectfully.
Obviously, these are just the highlights for what was a very impactful legislative session in the area of mental health and addiction. Please see the entire MHAI Bill Track HERE. Moreover, this is just the beginning as we must now work with our partners in the Administration to appropriately implement all of the great accomplishments from this Session.
MHAI would be remiss if we did not acknowledge the many people that came together to make this Session possible. The list is long, but at least two stand out: Senator Mike Crider and Representative Steve Davisson. Both are long-time friends and supporters of MHAI, but the successful effort they made this year is without measure.
