Finance Committee Will Also Consider Further Changes to BadgerCare

Back in November, the Assembly passed 11 mental health bills that are now in the Senate, including 8 that have been referred to Joint Finance Committee (JFC).  Seven of those bills, which were developed by the Speaker’s Task Force on Mental Health, are being considered by the committee on Wednesday.  Each of these seven was approved by unanimous votes in the Assembly.

Another health care bill that is a late addition to the January 8^th JFC agenda is the new legislation (which doesn’t have a bill number yet) to make a few additional changes to BadgerCare to implement an agreement reached by state and federal officials.  That bill is explained in this new Wisconsin Budget Project blog post. (See the Task Force’s Oct. 9th report.)

Getting back to the seven mental health bills, The following overview – much of which is pilfered from this summary and endorsement of the bills by the Survival Coalition – includes the cost of each bill, as approved or amended by the Assembly:

AB-450 – Crisis Intervention Training (Rep. Severson)  Provides $150,000 GPR per year for grants to provide crisis intervention team training for law enforcement agencies and correctional officers.  (Read more in this LFB memo)

AB-452 – Child Psychiatry Consultation (Steineke)  Appropriates $500,000 GPR annually to support primary care providers who are serving children and youth, to better meet the mental health needs of these young people.  (LFB memo)

AB-454 – Primary Care and Physician Shortage Grants (Petersen)  Provides a one-time grant of $1.5 million to the Higher Education Aids Board  to help address the extreme shortage of psychiatry services in many parts of  the state.  (LFB memo)

AB-455 – Peer-Run Respite Centers (Jagler)  Appropriates $125,000 annually to facilitate the expansion of peer-run respite centers, which can mitigate the need for more costly emergency services.  (LFB memo)

AB-457 – Expansion of Treatment and Alternatives Diversion (TAD) Programs (Tittl) Authorizes $375,000 annually to provide grants to counties to develop more recovery-oriented alternatives to incarceration for individuals with mental illnesses who become involved with the criminal justice system but do not pose a public safely risk.  (LFB memo)

AB-459 – Individual Placement and Support Program (Sanfelippo): As amended, it provides one-time funding of $970,000 GPR in 2013-14 to support expansion of an evidence-based program for employment of people with serious mental illnesses. (LFB memo)

AB-460 – Grants for Mobile Crisis Units (Ballweg)  Appropriates $125,000 GPR per year Grants to support the development of mobile crisis teams in rural areas.  (LFB memo).

The eighth of the mental health bills referred to JFC, which hasn’t been scheduled yet by the committee, is AB 453.  It would expand when mental health records can be shared.  It is supported by some public health groups, but opposed by Disability Rights Wisconsin and Mental Health America.

The three other mental health bills that were approved by the Assembly in October do not have fiscal estimates and are now in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

A good article by Dee Hall and Mary Spicuzza in Sunday’s State Journal examines Wisconsin’s response this session to mental health issues and to the Sandy Hook shooting.

Jan 8th UPDATE:  JFC approved all seven bills, mostly by unanimous votes.  (Senator Grothman was the lone no vote on 3 of the bills.  Read more here.)  The Senate Committee on Health and Human Services will hold a public hearing this Thursday, January 9 (beginning at 10:00 am in Room 411 South) on all 14 bills recommended by the Speaker’s Task Force on Mental Health.

Jon Peacock and Emma Hynes