H.R. 3717, the "Helping Families in Mental Health Crisis Act"

H.R. 3717 reauthorizes several programs with bipartisan backing, such as the Garrett Lee Smith Suicide Prevention Program and National Child Traumatic Stress Initiative. But the bill contains some potentially problematic provisions. In particular:

• The bill amends the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) as it relates to provider disclosure of protected health information to family members and individuals who assume primary responsibility of patients with “severe mental illness.”  The bill creates a definition of “severe mental illness” that is both overly broad and includes all individuals with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, manic-depressive disorder, or major depression, and does not reference the severity of the condition or the status of treatment.  This undermines patient privacy and could discourage patients from seeking needed treatment.
• The bill cuts federal support for mental health services administered through the Community Mental Health Services Block Grant and conditions states’ ongoing support on the adoption of new federal standards for involuntary treatment that would displace current state law.
• The bill proposes a dramatic reorganization of mental health authorities in the Department of Health and Human Services that would minimize the role of the main agency on mental health-the Substance Abuse Mental Health Services Administration--and would undermine efforts to better coordinate mental health and substance abuse activities.

(See the section-by-section summary of the bill for more details.)

The bill does not include any provisions of H.R. 2910, legislation introduced by Rep. Henry A. Waxman and others that includes provisions to prevent the rare instances when individuals with serious mental illness escalate and commit violent acts.