Doug LaMalfa throws support behind mental health reform bill

Oct. 29--SHASTA COUNTY, California -- Rep. Doug LaMalfa expressed concern for lack of mental health services in rural areas and threw in his support for a bill that would address mental health issues during a speech Wednesday morning to the House of Representatives.

The bill, H.R. 2646, would reform mental health services by identifying trends and policy changes that impact services. Titled Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act of 2015, the reform would create a new agency, National Mental Health Policy Laboratory, that would oversee and collect information from different entities in the medical community.

On Wednesday LaMalfa spoke about the impact a lack of mental health services has on rural communities.

LaMalfa, R-Richvale, was critical of the existing medical health coverage that most Americans rely on.

"While continuing to throw federal funding at it may serve as a temporary Band-Aid for the symptoms of this crisis, it does nothing to address the root of the problem. One-size-fits-all, top-down systems do not work, especially in rural America," LaMalfa said.

The Congressman also noted that there is a shortage of psychiatrists in the county, with only one for 4,000 mental health patients in Shasta County.

Mental health advocates in Shasta County said that there is more than one psychiatrist in the county, but there are only a handful and some have their own private practice.

The bill, introduced by Republican Timothy Murphy, a psychologist from Pennsylvania in June, is still in its early stages garnering a majority of Republican cosponsors, but would make strides to integrate mental healthcare and physical healthcare in Medicaid and provide more resources for suicide prevention.

The bill would also address issues with Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), along with the role of substance abuse and assisted outpatient treatment.

The National Alliance on Mental Illness has openly supported the bill, but its Shasta County chapter did not respond in time for publication of this article.

Dean Germano, CEO of the Shasta Community Health Center, sees the bill as a much needed change for the industry.

"There are some provisions that need to be addressed. Right now the rules are antiquated. It goes back to an era where mental health was seen as less of the health care system," Germano said, emphasizing that data and documented science illuminate mental illness.

"You could ask anyone in the community about the mental health system currently in place," Germano said. "It's serving people, but it is not working very smoothly. The rules that are in place for how we provide services to people, it's very difficult to help people that way."

Over at Hill Country Clinic in Round Mountain, CEO Lynn Dorroh is glad that the issue of mental health is receiving attention from the federal government. Her clinic, which would meet the definition of a rural mental health care facility, served 4,500 patients with behavioral health issues in the last 12 months -- 36 percent of which have serious mental health issues.

"We are fortunate to have several psychotherapists (licensed clinical social workers)," Dorroh said.

One facet of her clinic that Dorroh would bring to the attention of the reform bill is the use of telemedicine, a communication service that shares medical information.

Dorroh said that when there is a lack of trained physicians able to prescribe medications, it puts a burden on primary care providers. Other issues spill over into jails or emergency rooms, where patients receive treatment but have nowhere else to go for follow up care.

"We just don't have the workforce that we need. Overall I'm really happy that he (LaMalfa) is taking an interest in this," Dorroh said.

"It will require a shift in public priorities," Dorroh added.

In his speech to support the bill, LaMalfa said that every year the federal government spends $130 billion on mental health services, yet there is a shortage of psychiatric beds. The details of how exactly a reform bill would impact Shasta County was unclear on Wednesday. LaMalfa did not respond to questions from the Record Searchlight by deadline on Wednesday.

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