NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
BILL NUMBER: A10938
SPONSOR: Gunther TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the geriatric
service demonstration program, to promote mental health and home care
collaboration within the program
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
To promote mental health and home care collaboration within the Geria-
tric Service Demonstration Program for the purpose of coordination,
integration and improved access of health and mental health services for
individuals with co-occurring mental health and physical health needs.
Will better assist individuals to age-in-place in their homes and commu-
nities, avoid hospitalizations, promote better care transitions from
hospital to home, and support quality of health and life for New Yorkers
with mental health conditions.
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends paragraph (a) of section 7.41 of the mental hygiene law
(the Geriatric Services Demonstration Program) to authorize the office
of mental health to include under the demonstration promotion of home
care provider collaboration with mental health providers to promote the
integration of health and mental health services for the patients and to
overall promote the goals of the demonstration program (referenced
above).
Section 2 of the bill provides for an immediate effective date.
JUSTIFICATION:
This legislation reinforces the goals of the state's mental health poli-
cies of prioritizing care in the community, and supporting the total
range of patient needs required to maintain quality community life and
avert exacerbations, emergencies, hospitalizations and potential long
term institutionalization. Particularly as individuals in the mental
health community age, their physical health needs become of equal or
ever greater consequence to their health and care management.
Home care agencies are the state's certified, licensed and expert
providers of health care in the home and community. The agency staffs
nurses, therapists, social workers and home health/personal care aides
combined with the direct care, service management and
telehealth/technology services that the agencies provide are a perfect
and logical match with mental health providers to collaboratively formu-
late and maintain a total care and management model for the patients.
By incorporating home care collaboration with mental health providers
under the Geriatric Services Demonstration Program, this legislation can
be a significant step not only in meeting the patient needs, but also in
laying the broader groundwork for statewide policy and model develop-
ment.
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Anticipate savings to the state from the collaborative health-mental
health effort.
EFFECTIVE DATE:
Immediately.
STATE OF NEW YORK
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10938
IN ASSEMBLY
May 29, 2018
___________
Introduced by M. of A. GUNTHER -- read once and referred to the Commit-
tee on Mental Health
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to the geriatric
service demonstration program, to promote mental health and home care
collaboration within the program
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivision (a) of section 7.41 of the mental hygiene law,
2 as added by chapter 568 of the laws of 2005, is amended to read as
3 follows:
4 (a) The office shall establish a geriatric service demonstration
5 program to provide grants, within appropriations therefor, to providers
6 of mental health care to the elderly. The office is also authorized,
7 under the demonstration program, to foster and support collaboration
8 between providers of home care services licensed or certified under
9 article thirty-six of the public health law and mental health providers
10 for the integration of health and mental health care, and for all other
11 enumerated goals of this section. Such program shall be administered by
12 the office in cooperation with the state office for the aging and such
13 other state agencies as the commissioner shall determine are necessary
14 for the operation of the program.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD15899-01-8
