The Florida state legislature is considering a bill that would reform the state’s mental health system.
The website Health News Florida reports that the Florida House and Senate have been deliberating on two versions of the same bill that would establish a new set of standards for health providers as well as open the way for for-profit mental health services to bid on state contracts. The House version passed unanimously on March 31st and the Senate version received a hearing in the Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee on April 2nd.
Florida legislatures and officials point out that the bills are part of a larger effort to reform the state’s mental health system. Rep. Gayle Harrell, the chairwoman of the House Children, Families and Seniors Subcommittee, called the system “fragmented” and unfit to serve the state’s needs.
“While we were doing that research last year, we recognized that the prime drivers of child abuse and child neglect were really rooted in substance abuse, mental health and domestic violence,” Harrell said. “And indeed, domestic violence is very frequently the result of substance abuse and mental-health issues.”
Harrell was referring to the state’s major overhaul of its child welfare system from last year. She and many others believe that reaching out to abused children is an instrumental step in fixing the overall mental health system.
Others, however, are wary of the new bill, claiming that it could open the way for financial problems.
“There are many good elements in this bill, but it also sets off alarm bells for significant unintended consequences, primarily opening the door for for-profit corporations to run an under-funded community-based system,” said Ann Berner, CEO of the Southeast Florida Behavioral Health Network.
The new bill would change the bidding standards for mental health providers. Among other provisions, the bill would require “managing entities,” as the contractors are called, to follow set guidelines for data-gathering and performance. Failure to comply could result in penalties.
Another provision requires the state to conduct a two-part study of the system before implementing changes to the bidding process.
Current mental health providers are concerned about the lack of resources and personnel willing to work for the state. Low salaries are a major factor in the lack of adequate staff. Laureen Pagel, CEO of Starting Point Behavioral Health Care, the only mental health provider in Nassau County, claims to have trouble with keeping staff.
“My colleagues are closing their doors around the state,” Pagel said. “It is a very fragile system right now, and frankly, I’m scared to death.”
John Bryant, assistant secretary for substance abuse and mental health at the Department of Children and Families, said Pagel’s concerns are “not uncommon.”
“The competition for health-care professionals is immense,” he said. “We have a very hard time recruiting and retaining psychiatric services and psychiatrists and physicians….We’ve got to pay competitive salaries. We need, in a sense, a manpower initiative for behavioral health.”
According to Bryant, Florida spends an annual $750 million on mental health services. Nationwide, approximately $113 billion is spent on mental health services every year, accounting for 5.6% of total medical spending.
