NYAPRS Note: This week, 2 Congressional hearings will look at strategies to boost the nation’s mental health services, in keeping with the President’s recent initiatives in the wake of the Newtown tragedy. Former OMH Commissioner Mike Hogan and longtime peer leader Larry Fricks will be among those testifying, in addition to SAMHSA Administrator Pam Hyde.
Week ahead: Mental Health Debate Moves To Congress
by Elise Viebeck The Hill January 21, 2013
President Obama’s proposals to reduce gun violence sparked new debate on how to strengthen the U.S. mental health system. After inauguration festivities conclude, Congress will pick up the baton with several hearings this week.
The House Democratic Gun Violence Prevention Task Force will host a briefing and panel discussion Tuesday afternoon designed to look comprehensively at the U.S. mental health system. Staff members said the event would focus on issues of funding, research, prevention and intervention.
Pamela Hyde, administrator of the Substance and Mental Health Services Administration; Dr. Thomas Insel, director of the National Institute of Mental Health; and several other leaders are scheduled to participate.
Senators will have the opportunity to weigh in Thursday, when both Hyde and Insel return to Capitol Hill for a hearing at the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) Committee (NYAPRS: see list below).
The hearing will provide senators an opportunity to examine the most pressing problems in our mental health system, including a need to focus on prevention and early intervention, a HELP planning memo said last week.
Health policy leaders also will turn their focus to Medicaid…
United States Senate Committee On Health, Education, Labor, And Pensions
Assessing the State of America’s Mental Health System
Thursday, January 24, 2013
10:00 a.m.
430 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Panel I
Pamela Hyde, J.D. Administrator, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Rockville, MD
Thomas Insel, M.D. Director, National Institute of Mental Health at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD
Panel II
Michael Hogan Ph.D., Former Commissioner, New York State Office of Mental Health, and Chairman, President’s New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, Delmar, NY
George DelGrosso, M.A. Executive Director, Colorado Behavioral Health Council, Denver, CO
Robert Vero, Ed.D. Chief Executive Officer, Centerstone of Tennessee, Nashville, TN
Larry Fricks, Senior Consultant, National Council for Behavioral Health, Cleveland, GA