NAMI Legislative Update February 28, 2015 State Budget in Great Shape Minnesota Management and Budget (MMB) issued the February Forecast, which means they have a new estimate for how much money the state will have for the 2016-17 fiscal years. They estimated that there will be MORE money (or revenues), a 1.5% increase over their November estimates. This additional money is due to more money coming in ($616 million more) and less money being spent ($115 million lower) than previously expected. The total surplus rose to $1.869 billion. Governor Dayton's current budget spends $42 billion and he said that he would submit what is called a "supplemental budget" the week of March 9 that will increase spending by about $444.2 million to fund additional legislative priorities. This includes universal pre-k for all fouryear olds, higher education and transportation and restoring funding for the Mpls Park Board. Governor Dayton said he would set aside $50 million to implement the recommendations of the child protection task force. NAMI Minnesota would like to see those additional dollars used to fund our mental health system and ensure that the additional funding for mental health that is in the Governor's original budget is passed. Saturday's Star Tribune editorial points to the very fact that "The governor also voiced willingness to spend more in other areas. Dayton's initial proposal was stingy with several other state services that have not yet recovered from recession-era cuts. Assistance for vulnerable people - the frail elderly and the disabled, impoverished and endangered children, and mental illness sufferers - deserves serious consideration." In order for this to happen, NAMI members need to call the leaders of the house and senate this week. Please make your calls by Thursday. Here is who to call: Senate Senate Majority Leader Thomas Bakk at 651-296-8881 Assistant Majority Leader Katie Sieben at 651-297-8060 Finance Committee Chair Dick Cohen at 651-296-5931 Senate Minority Leader David Hann at 651-296-1749 House Speaker of the House Kurt Daudt at 651-296-5364 or 1-800-710-7642 Majority Leader Joyce Peppin at 651-296-7806 Ways and Means Committee Chair Jim Knoblach at 651-296-6612 House Minority Leader Paul Thissen at 651-296-5375 Your message is simple: I am a NAMI member and I (live with a mental illness, have a family member, work in the field). I am so pleased that our state budget has a bigger surplus than expected. Please use these dollars to increase funding to our mental health system. Making all these calls will take less than 10 minutes. Do you have ten minutes to spare to help improve the mental health system? If you only have 5 minutes, please focus on the House members. Got an extra minute? Call your own state senator and representative and tell him or her the same thing. Your voice matters! Make sure it's heard! Committee Hearings Senate Health, Human Services and Housing Senate HHS and Housing committee met on Monday and heard Sen. Lourey's bill, SF 139. This bill proposes a number of changes to MNSure, including making it a state agency. Sen. Lourey said this change would give the legislature more direct oversight on MNSure. Sen. Lourey was joined by DHS Commissioner Lucinda Jesson and DHS Deputy Commissioner for Policy and Operations Chuck Johnson, the three testifiers answered a wide-ranging series of questions. Senator Benson and Senator Nelson expressed a number of concerns about MNsure in general. Senator Nelson described MNsure as the largest failure in state programming. Senator Lourey said that there have been technical challenges but added that MNsure has been responsible for 181,000 uninsured Minnesotans finding health coverage. Senator Sheran asked about the difficulty of building a single Information Technology (IT) system that can establish eligibility for private and public insurance. Commissioner Jesson responded that there is hope for fixing the IT system. She said there has been significant progress in the last year in this area. The committee met on Wednesday to hear the Governor's health and human services bill. Senator Lourey walked through the bill explaining the various sections. No testimony was taken. Senate Judiciary Committee On Tuesday, the Judiciary Committee met to hear several bills. Senator Sheran presented SF 253, which would establish an Interstate Medical License Compact. She said if Minnesota joined this Compact, it would allow physicians a faster process to become licensed if they are licensed in another state. The bill was described as a tool to expand access to physicians, particularly through telemedicine. The bill passed and was referred to Senate Finance. House Agriculture Finance Committee The House Agriculture Finance committee met on Tuesday. Jim Molenaar with the Minnesota State Council of Universities (MNSCU) spoke in support of mental health counseling for farm families. He explained that this program started in response to flooding in rural areas and helped families work through the stress related to these events. He said that this program made a positive impact, such as preventing suicides and helping families stay together. The program currently funds one mental health professional and he often travels long distances to provide vital mental health counseling. Representative Jeanne Poppe shared her support for this program. She recalled a recent example where a teacher in a rural school lost his child in a car accident. The mental health professional was quickly on hand to help the family cope with the loss. Representative Poppe said she was introducing a bill this session to increase funding for mental health counseling for farm families. NAMI Bills Introduced More bills were introduced this week to carry forward our goals of increasing access to the mental health system. If your legislator is a chief author - call and thank them. If he or she signed on as a co-author, please email them and thank them as well. When legislators support our issues we need to take the time to thank them! The bills are listed below. HF 1024 (Davnie; Erickson; Ward and Clark) (Companion to SF 1188) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Appropriates $750,000 to provide training and technical assistance to schools to reduce the use of seclusions and restraint on students and to reimburse school districts for the costs of hiring experts to provide training in reducing the use of seclusion and restraints for students with complex needs. HF 1209 (Barrett; Fischer; Johnson, C.; Yarusso; Baker; Ward and Slocum) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Adds evidence-based suicide prevention training to the current continuing education requirements for teachers. Adds de-escalation and suicide prevention to the deadly force training for police officers. Adds a new program to provide evidence-based suicide prevention and intervention to a variety of professionals including public school nurses, teachers, coaches, and police officers. Adds postvention training. Requires the commissioner of health in consultation with stakeholders to improve the timeliness, usefulness and quality of suicide-related data. Appropriates $300,000 in FY 20162017 for suicide prevention training, $3 million for text message suicide prevention services, and $45,000 for youth mental health first aid training. SF 1006 (Tomassoni; Metzen; Sheran and Lourey) Referred to the Committee on Finance. Appropriates an additional $5 million over the next biennium to fund programs that provide employment support services for persons with mental illness. More than half of the money is explicitly designated for expansions to areas of the state without existing programs. SF 1187 (Clausen) Referred to the Committee on Commerce. Requires health plans to pay for treatment and services provided by a clinical trainee to the extent that the services are within the scope of practice of that person. Requires that denial of payment claims that concern the appropriateness, quality, or utilization of mental health services "be made by, under the direction of, or subject to the review of a licensed mental health professional." SF 1188 (Torres Ray and Clausen) (Companion to HF 1024) Referred to the Committee on Finance. Appropriates $750,000 to provide training and technical assistance to schools to reduce the use of seclusions and restraint on students and to reimburse school districts for the costs of hiring experts to provide training in reducing the use of seclusion and restraints for students with complex needs. Governor Dayton Signs the Deficiency Bill On Thursday, the Governor signed legislation that provides deficiency funding for a variety of agencies and items. The bill included $10,437,000 for the Minnesota Security Hospital (MSH). This is the same amount that was proposed in the initial bill. MSH is currently operating under a conditional license that requires increased staffing, cameras, and training. The increased staffing is to help improve safety and implement a more person-centered approach to care. The hospital is dependent on overtime to provide staffing at safe levels. This has led to higher than expected costs. Report Released on Offenders with Mental Illnesses The Offenders with Mental Illness Workgroup report was released this week. The group looked at several areas: Pre-Arrest/Arrest, Urgent Care/Central Receiving Center, Law enforcement, Hospital, Jails and Courts, Discharge and Juvenile Justice. The group developed recommendations and then voted on them. The recommendations receiving the largest number of votes were: Create sustainable funding methods for mental health urgent care services. Urgent care services include mental health crisis assessment, access to crisis psychiatry, chemical health screening, and crisis stabilization services. Encourage local jurisdictions to have regular meetings between law enforcement and mental health communities to facilitate dialogue and collaboration, identify trends, and address barriers. Continue medication for inmates after discharge. Establish a sustainable payment rate for mobile crisis services that covers not only face-to-face contact but other necessary service elements such as telephone/text support, engagement in treatment, service coordination, and travel. NAMI Minnesota participated on this task force. Not sure who represents you? This Week at the Capitol On Tuesday the House Education Innovation Policy Committee will hear Rep Barrett's bill on suicide prevention (HF 1209) and the discipline bill(HF 1233). On Tuesday the House Health and Human Services Reform Committee will hear HF 753 related to the loan forgiveness programs for mental health professionals and they will hear the text for life bill (HF 1201) on Thursday. On Wednesday, the Senate Health, Human Services and Housing Committee will hear two bills related to MA-EPD and MA spenddown - SF 238 and SF 566. 2015 Mental Health Day on the Hill Bus Schedule and Registration You can now register for buses for the 2015 Mental Health Day on the Hill! We need hundreds of people from around the state to come to the capitol and advocate for children and adults living with mental illnesses and their families on March 12. Join us and make your voice heard! There will be five routes around Minnesota leaving in the morning to take people to the Christ Lutheran Church across the street from the Capitol. There won't be the traditional "rally" since there is no rotunda but legislators will be coming to speak at the church. Please call your state representative and senator and make an appointment to visit with them (for 15 minutes on the 12th between 12 and 2. Let us know the details once you make the appointment. It is critical that legislators hear from their constituents! Come help us strengthen and expand our mental health system at the capitol this year! We know what works, let's build on it! You can register for buses by clicking here. President Obama Releases Budget President Obama unveiled his $4 trillion budget proposal for 2016. The budget includes a number of important proposals for agencies and programs of importance to people living with serious mental illness and their families. In a surprise development, the budget proposes to eliminate the unfair 190-day lifetime limit on inpatient psychiatric care in the Medicare program, a proposal that requires congressional action. Perhaps most important is the President's proposal to increase the current budget limits by $74 billion on spending, thankfully eliminating the looming threat of across-the-board cuts known as "sequestration" for 2016. Back in 2013, sequestration became a reality, with harmful cuts to mental illness research and supportive housing programs. It remains to be seen if Congress will allow this to happen. However, this budget proposal does serve as a first offer in a negotiation over spending limits and priorities that will run through this coming summer. Read on to see President Obama's proposed budget in relation to serving people with mental illnesses. Bill Summaries House HF 994 (Hertaus; Dehn, R.; Newberger; Considine and Newton) (Companion to SF 773) Referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance. Changes possession for cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine to be equivalent with other narcotic drugs. Repeals mandatory sentencing requirements. Appropriates money to the commissioner of corrections for substance abuse and mental health treatment programs, offender education programs, and crime victim services. HF 999 (Quam and Lucero) Referred to the Committee on Civil Law and Data Practices. Classifies law enforcement body camera data that is collected in a space where the subject has a reasonable expectation of privacy as private data. It may only be shared or disseminated pursuant to court order. HF 1009 (Hamilton; Mack; Murphy, E.; Halverson; Baker and Clark) (Companion to SF 998)Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Sets minimum reimbursement rates for medical assistance that guarantee a base level rate for public health nurse home visits. Appropriates money for planning and start-up grants to community health boards and tribal nations not currently providing the nurse-family partnership program, as well as expansion grants for communities with existing nurse-family partnership programs. HF 1011 (Albright; Mack; Franson; Fischer; Schultz; McDonald; Lohmer; Gruenhagen; Backer; Zerwas; Schoen; Schomacker and Dean, M.) (Companion to SF 453) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Expands medical assistance reimbursement to physician assistants providing medication management and evaluation and management services to outpatient settings. To do this they added that the physician assistant must complete at least 2,000 hours of clinical experience that includes mental health evaluation and treatment. NAMI Minnesota is opposed to this bill. NAMI and others proposed language that would have required more mental health training consistent with other mental health professionals but it was rejected by the PA organization. HF 1012 (Dean, M.; Dehn, R. and Lohmer) (Companion to SF 1012) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Requires community-based settings where people are on a waiver to meet requirements in the final home and community-based services regulations, and those of the federally approved transition plan for each waiver. The exceptions to the previous limit of no more than 25% of a building could be people on a waiver will expire in 2019. HF 1024 (Davnie; Erickson; Ward and Clark) (Companion to SF 1188) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Appropriates $750,000 to provide training and technical assistance to schools to reduce the use of seclusions and restraint on students and to reimburse school districts for the costs of hiring experts to provide training in reducing the use of seclusion and restraints for students with complex needs. This is a NAMI bill. HF 1035 (Johnson, C) (Companion to SF 962) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Finance. Appropriates $10.4 million to be spent on increased staffing levels, renovations, and improvements for the Minnesota Security Hospital in St. Peter. HF 1087 (Atkins; Murphy, E.; Clark; Zerwas; Davids; Mullery; Hornstein; Lillie and Ward) (Companion to SF 1071) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Creates a Violence Against Health Care Workers Act. Directs the commissioner of heath to develop a violence prevention database for workers to input information regarding acts of violence or abuse and if they had asked for additional staff or security. Allows an employee to go directly to law enforcement. HF 1088 (O'Neill; Ward; Johnson, B.; Schoen and Theis) Referred to the Committee on Finance. Creates patient care zones within hospitals, hospices or nursing homes and within 300 feet or one city block of one. Makes it a crime to sell drugs within these zones. Also requires consecutive sentences for inmates receiving treatment in a hospital, hospice or nursing home if they assault someone within a patient care zone. Penalties are increased for crimes within a patient care zone including assault, possession of a dangerous weapon, or making terroristic threats. HF 1145 (Dean, M.; Zerwas; Dehn, R.; Lohmer; Anderson, S. and Slocum) (Companion to SF 1208) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Appropriates $300,000 in FY 2016-2017 for matching grants to nonprofit organizations to provide chemical dependency prevention programs in secondary schools. HF 1153 (Mullery and Slocum) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Requires family home visiting programs to offer education services on prenatal development of brain function and development in youth. Adds that home visitors must receive specific training in early brain development. HF 1155 (Zerwas and Hoppe) (Companion to SF 1078) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Allows mental health records to be disclosed in order to coordinate services to an individual or family. HF 1180 (O'Neill; Zerwas; Hilstrom; Newberger; Schoen; Ward and Slocum) (Companion to SF 1013) Referred to the Committee on Public Safety and Crime Prevention Policy and Finance. Appropriates $1 million over FY 2016-2017 to the trial courts to expand specialty courts to each county in the state. HF 1201 (Schomacker; Barrett; Schultz; Backer and Schoen) (Companion to SF 1152) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Finance. Appropriates $3 million to expand the text message suicide prevention program. The program must provide a suicide prevention counseling text service designed to connect individuals with crisis counselors, provide emergency information, and make referrals to local resources within the community. School and community based training must also be provided to encourage use of the program. NAMI Minnesota supports this bill. HF 1209 (Barrett; Fischer; Johnson, C.; Yarusso; Baker; Ward and Slocum) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Adds evidence-based suicide prevention training to the current continuing education requirements for teachers. Adds de-escalation and suicide prevention to the deadly force training for police officers. Adds a new program to provide evidence-based suicide prevention and intervention to a variety of professionals including public school nurses, teachers, coaches, and police officers. Adds postvention training. Requires the commissioner of health in consultation with stakeholders to improve the timeliness, usefulness and quality of suicide-related data. Appropriates $300,000 in FY 20162017 for suicide prevention training, $3 million for text message suicide prevention services, and $45,000 for youth mental health first aid training. NAMI Minnesota supports this bill and worked closely with the author. HF 1211 (Peterson; Norton; Mack; Halverson; Dean, M. and Newton) (Companion to SF 1062) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Addresses the problem of counties underspending on the waivers, requires training for county staff on rate setting for waiver recipients. HF 1213 (Dean, M.) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Requires anyone participating in workforce development and employment training programs to undergo drug testing as a condition of eligibility. Persons who receive positive results must participate in a chemical dependency treatment program as a condition of continuing eligibility. HF 1216 (Poppe; Hamilton; Anderson, P. and Bly) Referred to the Committee on Agriculture Finance. Appropriates $168,000 over FY 2016-2017 for statewide mental health counseling to support farm families and business operators. The funding would be administered to the Board of Trustees of Minnesota State Colleges and Universities, and South Central College would serve as the fiscal agent. HF 1233 (Christensen; Erickson and Mariani) (Companion to SF 1001) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Prohibits suspensions for students in prekindergarten through grade 3. Allows parents to withdraw a child from school as an alternative to expulsion. Proposes that schools find alternatives to pupil suspension including restorative consequences, in-school suspensions, positive behavior interventions, or mental health crisis services. Also requires immediate notification of parents when any child is removed from a classroom, school building, or school grounds by a police officer. NAMI supports this bill. HF 1237 (Christensen; Erickson and Mariani) (Companion to SF 1002) Referred to the Committee on Education Innovation Policy. Requires paraprofessionals to have training address the disability specific and behavior needs of each student to whom the paraprofessional is providing direct support. HF 1246 (Mack; Schomacker; Schoen; Backer; Schultz; Barrett; Norton; Poppe; Dean, M.; Swedzinski; Quam; Gunther and Albright) (Companion to SF 981) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. The "Minnesota Telemedicine Act" requires health plans to include coverage for telemedicine in the same manner as an in-person visit or consultation, and prohibits exclusions for services solely because they are provided via telemedicine. Makes the same requirement under Medical Assistance. NAMI Minnesota supports this bill. HF 1252 (Hamilton; Murphy, E.; Gunther and Loeffler) (Companion to SF 643) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. Requires the commissioner to establish a program that provides health care coverage to low-income uninsured children and adults who are not citizens and have critical health care needs. HF 1271 (Quam, Allen, Mack, Loeffler and Dean, M.) Referred to the Committee on Health and Human Services Reform. (Companion to SF 928) Amends the eligibility requirements for group residential housing (GRH) payments, allowing payments to continue to be made six months after a person becomes employed. The person may retain countable income up to an additional $230 per month. Senate SF 1001 (Hoffman; Johnson; Pratt; Wiger and Housley) (Companion to HF 1233) Referred to the Committee on Education. Prohibits suspensions for students in prekindergarten through grade 3. Allows parents to withdraw a child from school as an alternative to expulsion. Proposes that schools find alternatives to pupil suspension including restorative consequences, in-school suspensions, positive behavior interventions, or mental health crisis services. Also requires immediate notification of parents when any child is removed from a classroom, school building, or school grounds by a police officer. NAMI supports this bill. SF 1002 (Hoffman; Johnson; Torres Ray and Wiger) (Companion to HF 1237) Referred to the Committee on Education. Requires paraprofessionals to have training address the disability specific and behavior needs of each student to whom the paraprofessional is providing direct support. SF 1006 (Tomassoni; Metzen; Sheran and Lourey) Referred to the Committee on Finance. Appropriates an additional $5 million over the next biennium to fund programs that provide employment support services for persons with mental illness. More than half of the money is explicitly designated for expansions to areas of the state without existing programs. This is a NAMI bill. SF 1012 (Hayden) (Companion to HF 1012) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. Requires community-based settings where people are on a waiver to meet requirements in the final home and community-based services regulations, and those of the federally approved transition plan for each waiver. The exceptions to the previous limit of no more than 25% of a building could be people on a waiver will expire in 2019. SF 1013 (Goodwin; Eaton; and Hall) (Companion to HF 1180) Referred to the Committee on Finance. Appropriates $1 million over FY 2016-2017 to trial courts to expand specialty courts to each county in the state. SF 1014 (Jensen; Carlson; Kent; Rosen and Nelson) (Companion to HF 1092) Referred to the Committee on Judiciary. Specifies that tenants can prematurely terminate a lease if the tenant has been found by a medical professional to require assistance with activities of daily living due to medical reasons or disability, to have reduced self-sufficiency due to a mental illness, or to need to move to a medical care facility. Two months' notice must be given by the tenant or the tenant's authorized representative. NAMI supports this bill. SF 1062 (Hoffman, Rosen, and Eken) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. (Companion to HF 1211) Addresses the problem of counties underspending on the waivers. Requires training for county staff on rate setting for waiver recipients. SF 1071 (Wiger, Eaton, Dibble, and Goodwin) (Companion to HF 1087) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services, and Housing. Creates a Violence Against Health Care Workers Act. Directs the commissioner of heath to develop a violence prevention database for workers to input information regarding acts of violence or abuse and if they had asked for additional staff or security. Allows an employee to go directly to law enforcement. SF 1078 (Champion; Goodwin and Lourey) (Companion to HF 1155) Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. Allows mental health records to be disclosed in order to coordinate services to an individual or family. SF 1150 (Schmit and Hoffman) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. Companion to HF 1246) (The "Minnesota Telemedicine Act" requires health plans to include coverage for telemedicine in the same manner as an in-person visit or consultation, and prohibits exclusions for services solely because they are provided via telemedicine. Makes the same requirement under Medical Assistance. NAMI Minnesota supports this bill. SF 1152 (Hayden) (Companion to HF 1201) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. Appropriates $3 million for a grant to a nonprofit organization to expand the statewide text message suicide prevention program. The program must provide a suicide prevention counseling text service designed to connect individuals with crisis counselors, provide emergency information, and make referrals to local resources within the community. School and community based training must also be provided to encourage use of the program. NAMI Minnesota supports this bill. SF 1187 (Clausen) Referred to the Committee on Commerce. Requires health plans to pay for treatment and services provided by a clinical trainee to the extent that the services are within the scope of practice of that person. Requires that denial of payment claims that concern the appropriateness, quality, or utilization of mental health services "be made by, under the direction of, or subject to the review of a licensed mental health professional." This is a NAMI bill. SF 1188 (Torres Ray and Clausen) (Companion to HF 1024) Referred to the Committee on Finance. Appropriates $750,000 to provide training and technical assistance to schools to reduce the use of seclusions and restraint on students and to reimburse school districts for the costs of hiring experts to provide training in reducing the use of seclusion and restraints for students with complex needs. This is a NAMI bill. SF 1202 (Hayden and Pappas) (Companion to HF 979) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing.Creates a task force to study the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACES) and to identify preventive and trauma-informed policy and practices. SF 1204 (Hayden) (Companion to HF 892) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. A resolution for the use of current science on childhood brain development, adverse childhood experiences, and toxic stress to prevent child abuse and neglect before it starts and ensure the well-being of all Minnesota children. SF 1208 (Rosen and Nelson) (Companion to HF 1145) Referred to the Committee on Finance). Appropriates $300,000 in matching grants to provide chemical dependency prevention programs in secondary schools. Applicants must demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to match the grant provided. SF 1213 (Marty; Dibble; Lourey; Franzen and Sheran) Referred to the Committee on Health, Human Services and Housing. The "Protection for Conversion Therapy Act" prohibits mental health practitioners or mental health professionals from engaging in conversion therapy with clients under 18 years of age or with vulnerable adults. Conversion therapy is defined as any practice intended to change an individual's sexual orientation or intended to discourage a transition from one gender to another. NAMI Minnesota supports this bill. NAMI Minnesota | 800 Transfer Road, Suite 31 | St. Paul, MN 55114 namihelps@namimn.org| http://www.namihelps.org 651-645-2948 | 1-888-NAMI-HELPS Stay Connected Copyright © 2014. All Rights Reserved.