ALBANY, N.Y. (NEXSTAR) — On Monday, the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) released 10 recommendations to improve New York’s mental health crisis response. They said that the state misses too many opportunities to intervene on behalf of people with mental health needs, leading to scapegoating, stigmatizing, and discriminating against them.
MHANYS said that about 25% of jobs in the industry are vacant, and that lack of workers delays care and contributes to waitlists. They want the state to invest in the workforce to fix staffing shortages, arguing that Gov. Kathy Hochul should budget for a 7.8% pay increase in the field for the upcoming fiscal year.
MHANYS wants better support for those getting out of hospitals, prisons, or jails. To achieve safer “hand-offs,” they proposed monitoring people with mental health or substance use disorders for 30 days after release when they’re at their most vulnerable. Approving regulations that require hospitals to coordinate follow-up care after discharge would also help.
“Instead of criminalizing individuals with mental illness, we need interventions that prioritize treatment and prevention,” said Sen. Samra Brouk, who chairs the Committee on Mental Health and represents Senate District 55 in Rochester. “We know what works: supporting first responders; strengthening our crisis response; advocating for peer support; and investing in our mental health workforce.”
MHANYS also wants the state to implement the New York Health Equity 1115 waiver to give Medicaid recipients better access to social care services. The waiver is a Medicaid program integrating more traditional healthcare considerations with health-related social needs.
Using the wavier, the state could address social care issues like unstable housing, lack of transportation, or unaffordable prescriptions. According to MHANYS, alleviating these stresses would help the people who need the most help before they face some crisis, thereby preventing expensive emergencies or needless violence.
Citing findings from the Attorney General's Office that 86% of mental health providers listed by insurers are unreachable or not accepting new patients, MHANYS wants those insurers to provide better coverage for mental health treatment. They said that the state should enact higher penalties for and better enforcement of parity laws. Doing so would inspire insurers to reimburse mental health treatment more often, at a rate closer to that of reimbursements for physical health treatments.
MHANYS said that the state government should deploy mental health incident review panels across the state to work with people living with serious mental illnesses. Although state law allows these panels, they are rarely used. Such reviews could lead to better outcomes for individuals while heading off systemic problems statewide at the same time, MHANYS said.
MHANYS wants the state to create joint state and city care monitoring teams to oversee the treatment of high-need individuals. They would coordinate services to offer more consistent, more effective care to people with severe mental illness.
Expanding mental health courts would offer all New Yorkers alternatives to incarceration, supporting recovery in an effort to limit recidivism. Today, they operate in 40 counties. That's why MHANYS recommended installing them statewide.
MHANYS also recommended getting the families and peers of people who need help involved through programs like Mental Health Community Partners and Care Path. These initiatives help guide people through the mental health care system in New York, and being able to tag in their loved ones could lower the pressure on people who are looking for treatment.
The MHANYS plan included improving the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline in New York, which has a 90% response rate and has answered over half a billion calls. MHANYS also wants the state to back enhancements for mobile response units and crisis stabilization centers like the Safe Option Support program, which has helped almost 700 homeless people find housing since 2022.
The MHANYS plan also pushes for public awareness campaigns about available resources like the 988 hotline. It also includes training so that law enforcement crisis intervention teams can better respond to mental health emergencies.
“MHANYS’s comprehensive 10-point plan is a response to New York State’s growing mental health crisis,” Brouk said. “It is important to consider these evidence-based recommendations to uplift our most vulnerable community members.”
