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Push for mental-health funding grows beyond Va. Tech tragedy
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The House and Senate, and the governor, have reached a consensus that at least $42 million more should be spent over the next two years to improve treatment for the mentally ill, one of the rare points of agreement during increasingly divisive budget talks.
It’s also one of the few spending proposals that looks immune from cuts amid a $1.4 billion budget shortfall.
House budget-makers, however, included an extra $43 million of mental health spending. Almost all of it would provide Medicaid funding for 800 mentally retarded patients in community care, 650 patients more than proposed by Gov. Tim Kaine or the Senate.
Lawmakers, at a news conference Wednesday, did not dispute that the funding had little to do with the aftermath of the Virginia Tech tragedy in April, when deranged gunman Seung-Hui Cho killed 32 fellow students and faculty.
The massacre spurred dozens of new bills aimed at loosening the rules of involuntary commitment, restricting the mentally ill’s access to firearms, and overhauling what many called a “broken” mental health system.
The tragedy did, however, “put mental health issues on the front burner” for legislators, said Del. Phil Hamilton, R-Newport News, who is considered the House’s most knowledgeable legislator on the issue.
“After the tragedy of April 16, no one was going to ignore mental health issues this year,” he
said.
Almost $6 million in the House budget would aid veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries, compared with a more modest increase in the Senate.
The Senate’s proposed budget includes funding to add 150 new slots for Medicaid funding, in which the state applies for a “waiver” from federal requirements that Medicaid dollars go only to mentally retarded patients in institutions.
“I’m glad they’re doing it,” said Sen. Ken Cuccinelli, R-Fairfax, of the House’s efforts. Kaine said the House’s mental health package “looked fine.”
wflook@dcexaminer.com
Comments from Examiner Readers
7:13 AM MST on Tue., Jul. 29, 2008 re: "Fairfax mental health agency to raise service fees"
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10:22 AM MST on Fri., Feb. 22, 2008
re: "Analysts propose trimming veterans mental health initiative"
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Examiner Reader said:
If Dr. Stratoudakis (and, by the way, if any of the press) had been at any of the 3 public forums held this past weekend on the draft recommendations of the Beeman Commission, he would have heard a county employee express her frustration that there were hundreds of thousands (if not more) of Medicaid dollars that the county was not collecting simply because it was not billing Medicaid. That's just the tip of the iceberg. If Dr. S is the director of Quality Improvement, he needs to personally start talking to the people in the trenches and consumers. Fix what you have now before you increase fees and throw more money away. There are too many children who need help NOW.
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Old female veteran in PA said:
Great incite, help Veterans now and save big money in the long run. We do not need more research into family dysfunction and violence. Children & Youth will save much needed time and money from pursuing child abuse claims. Local jails and courts will save money. Drug and alcohol abuse facilities’ will save funds and less research will be needed for all of the above including homelessness and suicides. The VA is again grossly under-funded for the fiscal year 2009. If this war did end tomorrow what would we possibly do with a few hundred thousand war veterans, when presently we can not even help a few thousand?
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