NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A9201
SPONSOR: Kelles TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to providing mental
telehealth services to children, adolescents, and young adults
PURPOSE:
To improve access to mental health services to youth by offering up to
five mental telehealth services annually for youth or families at no
cost to the individual. These services will be available for acute
crisis response, mental health assessments, or initiation of care to
reduce bathers and facilitate engagement in long-term care.
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 provides the legislative findings and intent.
Section 2 amends mental hygiene law to create a telehealth initiative to
facilitate access to mental health services for youth or families that
may not have access to mental health professionals in-person. Providers
shall be reimbursed, at a minimum, for up to five mental health sessions
annually with a youth. The Office of Mental Health and the Office of
Addiction Services and Supports shall enter into an agreement with a
vendor to provide these services by August 1, 2022.
Section 3 provides the effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
Demand for youth mental health and substance use services was increasing
even before the pandemic, and Covid-19 has led to social isolation, a
loss of normal routine, trauma and grief for many. Troublingly, rates
of anxiety and depression amongst youth have surged, and suicide is the
second leading cause of death among those aged 10 to 24. Unfortunately,
mental health emergency room visits for children from age 5-17 increased
approximately 30% in 2020, and suicide attempts were 51% higher for
girls aged 12-17. It is safe to say that a youth mental health crisis is
at our doorstep, and the impacts of the continuing pandemic are likely
to exacerbate the need for access to care.
New York State needs to quickly and effectively respond to the mental
health needs of our youth, including the significant disparities in
access for young people of color, Indigenous youth and LGBTQ+ youth. If
we fail to act today, the impacts of poor mental health will continue to
affect the lives of many in the future. All New Yorkers will benefit
from unproved access to mental health services.
This bill will create a free-of-charge youth telehealth program to reach
children, and their families, who may not have access to in-person
mental health treatment.
FISCAL IMPLEGATIONV ON THE STATE:
To be determined.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
A9332: 2022 referred to mental health.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after is
shall have become a law.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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9201
IN ASSEMBLY
February 15, 2024
___________
Introduced by M. of A. KELLES, SIMON, HEVESI -- read once and referred
to the Committee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to providing mental
telehealth services to children, adolescents, and young adults
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Legislative findings and intent. The Legislature affirms
2 the finding of the U.S. Surgeon General's Advisory on Protecting Youth
3 Mental Health that the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically altered young
4 peoples' experiences at home, at school, and in the community and has
5 exacerbated the unprecedented stresses young people face. The Legisla-
6 ture also finds that there exists an obligation to act to assist our
7 children and their families in this moment of need. The Legislature
8 intends, then, to provide actionable solutions for young people and
9 their families in support of the mental health of children, adolescents,
10 and young adults.
11 § 2. Section 5.05 of the mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new
12 subdivision (f) to read as follows:
13 (f) The commissioners of the office of mental health and the office of
14 addiction services and supports shall establish a youth mental tele-
15 health services program to facilitate access to mental health services,
16 including substance use disorder services, for youth to respond to iden-
17 tified mental health needs, including those needs that may have resulted
18 from the COVID-19 pandemic, and for youth or families that may not have
19 access to mental health professionals in-person. Such program shall
20 provide up to five mental telehealth services annually at no cost to the
21 individual, for acute crisis response, mental health assessment, or
22 initiation of care to reduce barriers and facilitate engagement in long-
23 term care.
24 As soon as practicable, but no later than August first, two thousand
25 twenty-four, the offices shall enter into an agreement with a vendor to
26 create, or use an existing, website or web-based application, as a
27 portal available to youth and providers to facilitate the program. Such
28 vendor shall be determined through a competitive bidding process.
29 § 3. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after
30 it shall have become a law.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD14005-01-4
