Other 109th Congress Mental Health Legislation:

H.R. 559: To amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to direct the Secretary of Education to make grants to States for assistance in hiring additional school-based mental health and student service providers. Rep. Barbara Lee (D-CA-9)

CRS Summary: Amends the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 to establish a program to assist States and local educational agencies (LEAs) to recruit, train, and hire additional school-based mental health and student service providers, including additional school counselors, psychologists, and social workers (in order to reduce the student-to-counselor ratios nationally, in elementary and secondary schools, to an average of one school counselor for every 250 students, one psychologist for every 1,000 students, and one social worker for every 800 students, as recommended in a report by the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences relating to schools and health).

Directs the Secretary of Education, after reserving certain funds for schools in outlying areas and schools run by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, to make program allotments to States according to a specified formula. Requires States to allocate funds from Federal and State shares of program costs to LEAs according to specified formulas.

H.R. 676 : Expanded and Improved Medicare for All Act - Rep. John Conyers (D-MI-14)

CRS Summary: Establishes the United States National Health Insurance Program (the Program) to provide all individuals residing in the United States and in U.S. territories with free health care that includes all medically necessary care, such as primary care and prevention, prescription drugs, emergency care, and mental health services.

Prohibits an institution from participating in the Program unless it is a public or nonprofit institution. Allows nonprofit health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that actually deliver care in their own facilities to participate in the Program.

Gives patients the freedom to choose from participating physicians and institutions.

Prohibits a private health insurer from selling health insurance coverage that duplicates the benefits provided under this Act. Allows such insurers to sell benefits that are not medically necessary, such as cosmetic surgery benefits.

Sets forth methods to pay hospitals and health professionals for services. Prohibits financial incentives between HMOs and physicians based on utilization.

Authorizes appropriations and provides for appropriated sums to be paid for: (1) by vastly reducing paperwork; (2) by requiring a rational bulk procurement of medications; (3) from existing sources of Government revenues for health care; (4) by increasing personal income taxes on the top five percent income earners; (5) by instituting a modest payroll tax; and (6) by instituting a small tax on stock and bond transactions.

Requires the Program to give first priority in retraining and job placement to individuals whose jobs are eliminated due to reduced administration.

Establishes a National Board of Universal Quality and Access to advise the Secretary and the Director to ensure quality, access, and affordability.

Provides for the eventual integration of the health programs of the Department of Veterans' Affairs and the Indian Health Service into the Program.

H.R. 922 : Veterans Mental Health Services Enhancement Act of 2005 - Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN-9)

CRS Summary: Authorizes appropriations for the employment of additional psychiatrists and other mental health services specialists at Department of Veterans Affairs medical centers and outpatient facilities specializing in the diagnoses and treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a nationwide outreach program at the community level for veterans who participated in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom who are or may be suffering from PTSD.

Directs the Secretary of each military department to conduct a comprehensive review of the mental health care programs of the Armed Forces under the jurisdiction of that Secretary to determine ways to improve the efficacy of such care.

Requires the Secretary of each military department to take special care in providing for as seamless a transition as possible from Department of Defense health care services to Department of Veterans Affairs health care services with regard to members of the Armed Forces who were exposed to combat or are otherwise at risk for PTSD.

Requires the Secretary of each military department and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to: (1) assess the adequacy of privacy and patient confidentiality standards and practices of their respective departments, particularly with regard to patients seeking treatment for PTSD; and (2) identify other factors that may deter members of the Armed Forces from seeking treatment for PTSD.

H.R. 1358 : TRICARE Mental Health Services Enhancement Act - Rep. Robin Hayes (R-NC-8)

CRS Summary: TRICARE Mental Health Services Enhancement Act - Amends the TRICARE program (a Department of Defense (DOD) managed health care program) to authorize the provision of mental health counseling for TRICARE participants. Authorizes the provision of mental health services in DOD clinical trials.

Amends the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 1995 to authorize the Secretary of Defense to enter into personal service contracts with mental health counselors.

Includes mental health counselors within DOD licensure requirements for health-care professionals.

H.R. 1447 : Seniors Mental Health Access Improvement Act of 2005 - Rep. Ted Strickland (D-OH-6)

CRS Summary: Amends title XVIII (Medicare) of the Social Security Act to provide for coverage under Medicare part B (Supplementary Medical Insurance) of marriage and family therapist services generally, and particularly such services provided in rural health clinics and in hospice programs. Authorizes marriage and family therapists to develop discharge plans for post-hospital services.

Amends Medicare part C (Miscellaneous) to exclude such services from the skilled nursing facility prospective payment system.

H.R. 1588 : Comprehensive Assistance for Veterans Exposed to Traumatic Stressors Act of 2005 - Rep. Lane Evans (D-IL-17)

CRS Summary: Extends eligibility for readjustment counseling services for Vietnam-era veterans. Requires implementation of a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-Department of Defense (DOD) Health Care Sharing Incentive Fund.

Requires: (1) the DOD to assist the VA with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and other mental health-related data collection; (2) substance use disorder questions in pre- and post-deployment screens and related treatment protocols; and (3) routine preventative maintenance intervention for returning members of the Armed Forces.

Requires a study of factors that decrease the likelihood of developing combat-related chronic PTSD.

Extends the enhanced eligibility period for VA health services for certain veterans. Provides for a joint demonstration project that stations VA psychologists and psychiatrists at major demobilization sites and military treatment facilities. Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop model programs to address mental health disorders prevalent among veterans of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom.

Requires: (1) performance measures that ensure appropriate deployment of resources to implement the Iraq war clinical practice guidelines; (2) establishment of the DOD/VA Council on Post-Deployment Mental Health; (3) a plan for expanded access to specialized PTSD care; and (4) additional mental health services personnel for certain VA programs and locations.

Requires counseling for immediate family members of disabled veterans and Armed Forces personnel killed in action.

Establishes a National Steering Committee on PTSD Education.

Addresses deficiencies in compensation and pension examinations with regard to PTSD.

Requires development of criteria for determining which medical conditions are likely associated with PTSD and when secondary service-connection should be granted for those conditions.

Provides for an outreach program to enhance PTSD awareness.

H.R. 1652 : Access to Legal Pharmaceuticals Act - Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY-14)

CRS Summary: Amends the Public Health Service Act to require any pharmacy receiving prescription drugs or prescription devices in interstate commerce to: (1) ensure that any in stock prescription that one pharmacist refuses to fill on the basis of a personal belief is filled by another pharmacist employed by the pharmacy without delay; (2) ensure that any individual who presents a prescription for an item that is not in stock which one pharmacist refuses to order on the basis of a personal belief is immediately informed that the product can be ordered by the pharmacy and to order such product without delay; and (3) not employ any pharmacist who engages in any conduct with the intent to prevent or deter an individual from filling a valid prescription, including refusing to return a prescription form, refusing to transfer a prescription, or subjecting the individual to humiliation or harassment.

Provides that this Act does not require the pharmacy to keep any particular product in stock nor does it apply with respect to a product for a health condition if the pharmacy does not keep in stock any product for such condition.

Sets forth civil penalties. Allows a private cause of action for a violation of this Act.

H.R. 1940 : Melanie Blocker-Stokes Post-Partum Depression Research and Care Act - Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL-1)

CRS Summary: Directs the Secretary of Health and Human Services, acting through the Director of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Director of the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), to expand and intensify research and related activities on postpartum depression and postpartum psychosis. Requires the Director of NIMH to conduct or support research to expand the understanding of the causes of, and to find a cure for, such conditions.

Directs the Secretary to make grants to establish, operate, and coordinate effective and cost-efficient systems for the delivery of essential services to individuals with such conditions and their families. Allows the Secretary to provide technical assistance to grant recipients.

H.R. 3708 : Hurricane Katrina Mental Health and Relief Act of 2005 - Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX-30)

CRS Summary: Requires 10% of all disaster relief funds provided in any Act enacted on or after September 8, 2005, in response to Hurricane Katrina be available to the Secretary of Health and Human Services for reimbursements of mental health professionals for the outpatient treatment of victims and first responders for stress, trauma, and other mental health conditions arising out of, or complicated by, Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath.

Makes such reimbursements available: (1) for services furnished during the two-year period beginning on August 29, 2005; and (2) to States to cover costs of such treatment provided to Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) beneficiaries.

H.R. 5771 : Joshua Omvig Veterans Suicide Prevention Act (2006) - Rep. Boswell, Leonard L. (D-IA-3)

CRS Summary:Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a comprehensive program for reducing the incidence of suicide among veterans.

Requires the program to include: (1) mandatory training for appropriate staff and contractors of the Department of Veterans Affairs who interact with veterans; (2) screening of veterans who receive medical care at a Department facility for suicide risk factors; (3) referral of at-risk veterans for counseling and treatment; (4) a suicide prevention counselor at each Department medical facility; (5) research for suicide prevention and for mental health care for veterans who have experienced sexual trauma while in military service; (6) 24-hour veterans' mental health care availability; and (7) a toll-free hotline.

Expresses the sense of Congress that: (1) suicide among veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a serious problem; and (2) the Secretary should take in the special needs of PTSD-afflicted veterans in developing and implementing the program.