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Murphy mental health bill gets a boost from House speaker

By Brad Hundtstaff Writerbhundt@observer-Reporter.Com 3 min read
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A long-gestating measure sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tim Murphy that would reshape the country’s mental health system received an important endorsement Dec. 2 from freshly minted Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, who said at a news conference that approval of the bill should be “a priority.”

Referencing the Nov. 27 shooting at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colo., that left three dead and nine wounded, Ryan said that burst of violence is “why we need to look at fixing our nation’s mental health system. An example – Tim Murphy, congressman from Pennsylvania, has a bill that is working its way through the Energy and Commerce Committee. I’m sure that members of both parties have lots of ideas in this area, but we should make this a priority to prevent violence and protect our citizens.”

As Ryan noted, Murphy’s bill, called the Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act, is under consideration by the House of Representatives’ Energy and Commerce Committee after being advanced last month by a subcommittee that deals with health-related issues. The measure still has four more hurdles to clear before it, or something resembling it, becomes law: It has to be approved by the whole Energy and Commerce Committee; then, it would have to come to a vote before the full House; after that, it would have to be reconciled with a similar mental health reform bill being considered by the U.S. Senate; and, finally, it would have to be signed by President Obama.

Ryan giving the bill his imprimatur “helps a great deal” said Murphy, a Republican from Upper St. Clair. “The pressure is on for Democrats and Republicans to get this to the floor.”

Another pressure point: the impending 2016 election, when politicking could well replace legislating.

Murphy’s bill would, among other things, allow family members and other immediate caregivers to know what medications someone suffering from mental illness is being prescribed, when they have appointments with doctors or therapists, increase tele-psychiatry in rural areas, and create a new assistant secretary for mental health. Though the proposal has the support of several Democrats in the House, it cleared the subcommittee on a 18-12 vote, mostly along party lines, with some Democrats arguing that it would reduce privacy protections and reduce patient treatment options.

Some language is still being worked out on the bill, and additional hearings will be held on it when the House returns from its holiday recess in January. Murphy explained that the Senate bill, sponsored by Sen. Chris Murphy, a Democrat from Connecticut and no relation, parallels his own bill and the two could be easily reconciled if both win approval.

“Mental health doesn’t have a (political) party,” Murphy said.

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