Gov. Kathy Hochul announces $1 billion plan to revamp state mental health care
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On Sunday, Gov. Kathy Hochul outlined her plans to allocate $1 billion in funding to improve New York state’s mental health care system. The funding will primarily go toward support for mental health care facilities, including housing services and school resources.
Hochul’s plan follows her announcement of the package in her 2023 State of the State on Jan. 10 and subsequent fiscal budget proposal. After the COVID-19 pandemic compounded existing issues with the state’s mental health infrastructure, Hochul said in a press release the plan will restore and bolster systems for mental health-related care and treatment.
“New York State’s mental health care system was strained and suffering from years of underinvestment even before the global pandemic exacerbated the problem and made things worse,” Hochul wrote in the press release. “This bold plan is aimed at providing the funding and resources needed to ensure everyone in our state can access high-quality mental health care.”
Hochul outlined investments for expansion of school-based mental health services, including $12 million for the HealthySteps program, which provides developmental support for children, and $10 million for suicide prevention efforts. Hochul also said she will introduce legislation to require private insurance providers to pay for school-based services at a level equal to that of Medicaid rates.
But New York state does not allow out-of-state college students’ appointments with their out-of-state therapists to be covered by insurance, excluding telehealth. For telehealth services, New York state law requires that providers located outside the state be licensed to practice in New York, according to New York State’s Education Department website.
The United States Department of Health and Human Services suspended this requirement nationally during the COVID-19 pandemic as part of the federal national emergency response, but the law will go back into effect when the emergency status ends in May.
For Syracuse University students who aren’t from New York, that means telehealth appointments with therapists from their hometowns won’t be allowed if they aren’t licensed in New York. Hochul’s mental health overhaul plan includes no changes to this policy.
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The plan includes $48 million to expand psychiatric care facilities’ inpatient bed capacities, and nearly $1 billion to establish housing units for people who have mental health disorders. The housing units will include transitional housing and vary in level of support provided.
The plan also sets out to overhaul facilities’ evaluation requirements for patient admissions and discharges, but doesn’t outline any specific criteria or function of the changes.
Under the plan, $180 million would go toward outpatient mental health care services and resources, which includes the creation of 12 new psychiatric emergency programs and an increase in the number of certified community health clinics across the state. Hochul also said she plans to create additional community support teams that help vulnerable populations, like people with substance use disorders and people who are unhoused.
The plan also includes $60 million to expand the state’s 988 crisis hotline services. Hochul’s plan accommodates telehealth mental health services, including a requirement that insurers cover telehealth appointments.
The plan allocates $5 million to expand eligibility for loan assistance through the Office for Mental Health’s Community Mental Health Repayment Program. Hochul also included provisions to create a Qualified Mental Health Associate credential in order to provide access to more training.
Another $2.8 million package will go toward the Intensive and Sustained Engagement Treatment program – a peer-based outreach and support network for adults with mental illness – in order to support operations and research.
Hochul will introduce legislation to implement these initiatives for New York’s 2024 fiscal year, which begins April 1.
